The Cheerleader Strikes Back
by Drake Clawfang
Summary: Tea, determined to prove she's a good duelist, duels Kaiba. And to her never ending shock, she wins! But now that's she's the unofficial Queen of Games, new rivals want a piece of her, and Kaiba isn't ready to accept defeat just yet. Part One of a trilogy
1. The Challenge

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 1

The Challenge

Tea Gardner looked up the Kaiba Corp HQ looming over her, and gulped. She was starting to have second thoughts about this…but she knew she had to go through with it.

-Flashback-

Tea sat sipping her milk in the cafeteria of her high school. A couple of giggles behind her caught her attention briefly, but she ignored it. Until she heard her name mentioned, that is.

"Gardner's going out with Muto? You've got to be kidding me!" Tea spewed her milk out, coughing. She gagged and tuned into what the three girls behind her were saying.

"I heard it with my own ears Naibi, they're practically married!" one of them squealed.

"Oh that can't be true, there's no way Yugi would go for someone like Gardner!"" Tea pretended to open her yogurt while Naibi continued. "He's the King of Games, Yuri, the best duelist in the world! There's no way he'd go for a dueling dummy like Gardner!"

-End Flashback-

"I'll show them who's a dueling dummy!" Tea fumed. She reached into her pocket for her deck, and slipped it into the Duel Disk Yugi had leant her. She entered Kaiba Corp and walked into an elevator, pushing the button for Kaiba's office. A few moments later, the doors opened, and Tea walked into the hall, straight for Kaiba's office. She marched right past a sputtering secretary and pushed open the doors to Kaiba's office.

Kaiba was typing furiously on his laptop when Tea barged in. He spared a glance upwards before looking back to his computer.

"Gardner, what do you want?" He muttered. Tea held up her Duel Disk.

"A duel." She replied simply. Kaiba smirked.

"That's funny; I could have sworn you just requested a duel."

"I did." Kaiba's typing stopped suddenly at Tea's words. He pushed his chair back and stood up.

"Look Gardner, I have a company to run here, and I don't have time to waste with amateur duelists like you."

"If I'm such an amateur, it shouldn't be too hard to beat me quickly." Tea said sweetly. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"I'm not dueling you; now leave before I call security." Tea feigned a sigh.

"Then it's true, you really are washed up." She murmured. Kaiba froze in the process of sitting down. He slowly raised his head to glare at Tea a look so icy it could freeze over the hottest flames of hell.

"What did you say?" He hissed. Tea shrugged.

"Word on the street is you're a washed up hack now. Ever since the KC Grand Championship, you haven't dueled in over a year. Rumor has it you can't even beat someone like Joey now." She explained. It wasn't a total lie. Kaiba hadn't dueled in over a year, and plenty of people thought it was because he had given up on ever beating Yugi. Tea felt bad about playing Kaiba's ego against him, but she wanted to duel. And a surefire way to get Kaiba's goat was to even suggest that Joey was a better duelist than him.

"That's it." Kaiba growled. He flung open his desk drawer and snatched his Duel Disk and deck before marching past Tea. "Follow me."

- - - - - - - - - -

The dueling platforms of Kaiba Land rose up as Dueling Arena 4 powered up. Tea took her place at the blue console. Kaiba manned the red one.

"I'll show you who's washed up!" Kaiba snapped. "You'll be begging for mercy within 2 turns!"

"I'm not gonna lose Kaiba!" Tea replied. "I'll let you go first." Kaiba drew his card and growled. With a hand like his, Tea really _would _be begging for mercy.

"I'll set 2 cards face-down, and summon 'Ryu-Kishin Powered' (1600, 1200). That's all for now." The pinkish-red gargoyle rose onto the field with a snarl as two cards blinked behind it. Tea drew and stared at Kaiba's field.

_"I know what he's up to."_ She thought. _"It's the same kind of trick he used on Joey in Battle City. He plans to use Shrink and Crush Card to destroy my monsters when I attack. Well there's an easy way around that."_

"I summon 'The Agent of Creation-Venus' (1600, 0000)." A large winged fairy rose onto the field, and smiled serenely at Kaiba. "And I'll pay 1500 Life Points to summon 3 'Mystical Shine Balls' (500, 500)." Venus held up her hands, and a rainbow sprung forth. 3 glowing blue balls appeared in the rainbow. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Tea smiled. _"Now, I didn't take the bait, so he'll probably summon something like…"_

"I summon 'Kaiser Seahorse' (1700, 1650)!" Kaiba roared. The glowing blue sea warrior jumped out of its card, waving its trident with a battle cry. Tea's smile grew wider. _"Bingo."_ "Kaiser Seahorse, attack Mystical Shine Ball!" The warrior spun its trident and threw it toward the orb of light.

"Activate trap 'Solar Ray'!" Tea commanded. 3 beams of light came from each Shine Ball, and condensed in the palm of Venus. "Before your attack lands, my trap will do 600 points of damage to you for every LIGHT monster on my side of the field!" Venus held out her hand and shot a searing beam of white light at Kaiba. The CEO took the shot in the chest with a cringe.

"It doesn't matter, your little fairy is still toast!" Kaiba snapped. Kaiser Seahorse's attack landed, shattering Mystical Shine Ball like glass. "Now Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack!" The fiend leapt and sliced up a second Shine Ball to ribbons. "That will end my turn."

-Tea: 4200, Kaiba: 5600-

"Nice moves Kaiba, but here's mine! I activate my Spell card 'Brain Control'! At a cost of 800 Life Points, this lets me control Kaiser Seahorse for a turn! And next, I'll sacrifice Mystical Shine Ball and Kaiser Seahorse to summon 'Moisture Creature' (2800, 2900)!" A large pair of transparent hands appeared, along with a large, transparent head with large, glowing yellow eyes. "And now for some bad news! You Seahorse counted as 2 Tributes, which means I offered 3 monsters for my summon! And offering 3 monsters as Tributes activates Moisture Creature's special ability, and destroys all of your Spell and Trap cards!" A laser pistol appeared in one of the hands, and Moisture Creature fired, destroying Kaiba's face-down cards. They were, as expected, Shrink and Crush Card.

"Now Moisture Creature, attack Ryu-Kishin Powered!" Tea ordered. The fairy aimed and fired its laser again. Ryu-Kishin roared and exploded. "Now Venus, attack Kaiba directly!" The fairy shot out another ray of light, hitting the CEO square in the chest, even causing him to double over. "I'll set another card face-down and end my turn."

-Tea: 3400, Kaiba: 2800-

"I'm not about to lose to the likes of you!" Kaiba seethed. "I set a monster in defense and end my turn." Kaiba smirked as he tried to regain his composure. _"Once she attacks, my Cyber Jar will destroy all of her monsters, and end her pitiful fairies once and for all!"_

"I draw, and activate my trap 'Light of Judgment'!" A ray of light glowed around Venus. "All I have to do now is offer a LIGHT monster as tribute, and I can destroy any card you have on the field!" Venus vanished into a sprinkle of glowing white dust, and the ray of light moved over to Kaiba's monster. Cyber Jar (900, 900) exploded much like Venus had. "Now Moisture Creature, attack!" the fairy aimed and fired directly at Kaiba, scoring a direct hit. Kaiba gasped and fell to his knees.

-Tea: 3400, Kaiba: 0000-

"No! It's not possible…I lost to _Gardner?_" Kaiba screamed. Tea blinked. And blinked again.

"I won?" She whispered in disbelief. Then the reality of the situation took effect, and Tea jumped in the air. "Yeah, I won!" She cheered. In the corner of the arena, a camera had witnessed the entire duel, which had ended in an unknown amateur beating the legendary Seto Kaiba. A duel which had just stunned a crowd outside. Almost everyone in Kaiba Land had just witnessed Tea beating Kaiba in barely 3 turns.

**I figured since I'm a member of Anzu's Angels now, I'd better show my Tea spirit! Hope you guys enjoy this, because Tea's dueling days have only just begun!**


	2. The Public Eye

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

**It's a new record! This was barely up for a day, and it got a flame! Well, although this story is apparently 'crappy', I will not resort to flaming back.**

Chapter 2

The Public Eye

The Dueling Arena powered down, and Tea hopped down from her console. She was still surprised she had won. Maybe after not dueling for so long, Kaiba really _had_ lost his touch. She crossed the arena and knelt beside the teenager.

"Kaiba? It was a good match." She said carefully. Kaiba's shoulders were shaking, and if Tea didn't know better, she'd have sworn he was crying. But the mere fact that this was Kaiba, of all people, dismissed that fact. "I just got a lucky draw, you know? If you want to have a rematch, I'll be happy to." Tea reached out to gently touch Kaiba on the shoulder, and he snapped his head around to glare.

"Don't touch me!" He hissed. He shot to his feet, snatched his deck and walked away. Tea watched him go and sighed.

"I should've just dueled Joey."

- - - - - - - - - -

Tea had just stepped out the doors to the Kaiba Land Dueling Stadium when a voice called out over the bustling crowd.

"There she is!" a guy shouted. Tea didn't really pay attention, and was busy digging into her purse for her cell phone. The fact that she had just beat Kaiba- even if she considered it pure luck on her part- was bound to get a laugh out of Joey. Then she pulled her head up and noticed that everyone in her immediate vicinity was staring at her. Tea sweat-dropped and waved.

"Um…can I help you guys?" She asked. As if they had received their cue, the crowd swarmed her.

"Do you know what you just did?" A little boy asked from her side. Tea bit her lip.

"Um…not really…" She muttered.

"You just beat Seto Kaiba!" a woman told her. Tea blinked.

"You guys know about that?"

"It was on every monitor in Kaiba Land!" the woman said.

"You're the first person to beat Kaiba since Yugi Muto!" a second voice yelled.

"Yeah, only the King of Games has what it takes to beat Kaiba! Or I suppose, the King and the Queen of Games!" The little boy giggled.

"Yeah, the Queen of Games!" the second voice said again. The title took off like wildfire, and almost everyone was chanting it. "Queen of Games, Queen of Games, Queen of Games!" Tea held up her hands.

"Whoa, hold on!" She protested. "I just got a lucky draw, alright? I got lucky and won, I'm no Queen of Games!"

"Miss, what's your name?" the woman asked.

"Tea Gardner." Tea replied.

"Tea Gardner, the new Queen of Games!" the little boy yelled. The crowd cheered its approval.

"Anything you need to know about the competition, I'm a big fan!" A girl cried, running forward. Tea raised an eyebrow.

"Um, what competition?" She asked sheepishly.

"Yugi Muto! After this, he's gotta duel ya! The King of Games versus the Queen of Games!"

"I told you, I'm not the Queen of Games!" Tea sighed. "And I wouldn't want to duel Yugi, he's my best friend." Tea cringed as the crowd erupted into new life.

"No wonder she won, she knows Yugi!"

"That's not fair, he probably told her all of Kaiba's moves!"

"They're probably going to end up going out after this!" Tea gulped and began to push through the crowd.

"Hold it right there." A big, burly hand lay itself on her shoulder, and Tea turned to see a big man staring down his nose at her. The big brute had his black hair slicked back completely over his skull, except for two places on either side where the hair stuck up into bright red mini-Mohawks. "You're supposed ta be da Queen of Games? Ya win one match, and ya think you're da Queen?" The thug demanded. Te backed up.

"Um, I think I said I wasn't the Queen." Tea stammered.

"Ya wanna be number one, ya gotta beat me!" The thug sneered.

"No way, I wanna duel her!"

"Let me, I use the same kind of cards as she does!" the little girl shouted. Tea shot a glance behind her, relieved to find she had reached the edge of the crowd. She spun around and took off running. The big thug growled.

"Get 'er!" He yelled, running after her. The crowd- or the duelists in it anyway- followed behind him. Tea ran through the gates of Kaiba Land cut left. The big thug and the crowd were closing fast. Tea put on an extra burst of speed and ducked into an alley. The thug followed a minute later, and skidded to a stop. The alley was empty. The thug looked around and turned to two other guys behind him.

"Search da street, don't let da little twerp escape!" He snapped. The two guys nodded and ran off. The thug took one last look down the alley and marched away. A few seconds later, Tea gently lifted the trash can lid off her hiding place and poked her head up.

"Oi vey." She groaned. "I wonder if Yugi ever had to go through all this."

"Check da alley again!" Tea eeped and ducked back inside the empty trashcan, pulling the lid back down. It was going to be a long afternoon.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Mom, I'm fine. No, different rooms…mom, that's gross! I'll be home tomorrow." Tea sighed and hung up her cell phone. "Thanks for letting me stay here Yugi." She said with a smile. She and the duelist were in the living room of the Turtle Game Shop. Tea had figured correctly that her house would be swarmed with newfound fans, and she couldn't have been more correct. Someone had figured out her address, and there was a large crowd outside her home. She had decided to hide out at Yugi's, but didn't tell him why.

"Dis is great, da gang's all 'ere." Joey yelled, wrapping an arm around Tea's shoulder. "We'll play games, have a party, it'll be great." Tea rolled her eyes and shoved Joey off of her into Tristan.

"Yugi, you have any soda?" She asked. Yugi nodded.

"Yeah, there's some in the fridge, you want one?" He replied, starting to get up.

"It's ok, I'll get it." She got up and crossed the room. "Hey Yugi." She started, rummaging through the fridge. "When you beat Kaiba, did anyone give you looks like…" She stood up and turned around to see Yugi, Joey and Tristan staring at her with their mouths hanging open. "Yeah, like that." Tea muttered. Joey calmly stood up, walked over to her and threw his arms around her.

"I love you!" He wailed. Tea blushed.

"Joey!"

"You're the mistress of the universe, your wish is my command, I worship you." Joey stepped back and made a show of bowing to her. Tea giggled nervously.

"Uh…what's going on?" She asked. Yugi pointed at the TV. Tea followed his finger and groaned.

"This video footage, taken from the Kaiba Land security cameras, shows Kaiba Corp CEO Seto Kaiba not only losing his first duel in over a year, but also losing to a virtual unknown, allegedly one Tea Gardner. The former world champion has been beaten only 3 times in his dueling career, once to the Industrial Illusions Chairman Maximillion Pegasus, and twice to Yugi Muto. And not even the current World Champion and King of Games Yugi Muto could defeat Kaiba in such a quick fashion. For Domino New, I'm Naomi Higurashi." The news ended, and Tea hung her head.

"I guess you guys wanna hear what happened huh?" She muttered. Joey nodded.

"And leave out no detail, no matter how demeaning and degrading to Kaiba it may be. If he cried, I wanna know!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"We looked all over town Vick, she ain't home or anywhere." Cyrus informed his boss. Cyrus had short brown hair with four black streaks going from the front to the back. Beside him, his partner Dorien shuffled while their boss glared at them. Dorien was Cyrus' younger brother, and wore his hair longer and down to the shoulders. He also had streaks, but his were platinum blonde, not black like Cyrus'.Vick the thug growled.

"Keep searchin', she must be hidin' out somewheres. Get da twerp and bring 'er 'ere. Look all ova town if ya gotta, just get da twerp!" He snapped. Cyrus and Dorien nodded and took off. Vick smirked and put an arm around the girl sitting next to him.

"Don't worry baby, you're da _real_ Queen of Games. I know it, and ya know it. And once my boys find dat little twerp and make her duel ya, she'll know it too." He chuckled. The woman beside him smirked.

"That's my boy." She purred.


	3. For Old Times Sake

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 3

For Old Times Sake

"I basically implied he was washed up, and he took the challenge then and there." Tea continued. She had been telling the story of how she had ended up dueling Kaiba to her friends, and Joey was especially giddy at the story. "So we went down to Kaiba Land, we dueled, and I won. I think I just got lucky though…anyway, it turns out the duel was being broadcast all over Kaiba Land, so when I won, everybody found out." She finished.

"So…Naibi really think we're a couple?" Yugi asked, blushing. Tea coughed and nodded. Joey grinned.

"So Tea, tell me; did Kaiba cry?" he asked. Tea shook her head.

"No way Joey, do you really think Kaiba would cry?" She scoffed.

"Well he wasn't just beaten Tea. He _was_ beaten by you." Tristan pointed out. Tea glared, and Tristan stammered to correct himself. "I mean, that is, he didn't think he'd last so long against you, and when you let him live, he was so happy…"

"I've gotten a lot better in the past year!" Tea huffed. "I'm not just some weakling duelist anymore! I'm way better then last year!"

"You mean last year when you always beat me?"**(1)** Joey grumbled. Tea shrugged.

"Yeah, but you've come a long way since then too Joey. You have a lot more faith in your deck, and in yourself." She pointed out. Joey grinned.

"Yeah, I have come a long way haven't I? I bet I could even beat you now!" He cried, jumping to his feet.

"Well I really doubt that Joey, she just beat Kaiba." Tristan laughed. Joey growled.

"Are you sayin' I can't beat her?" He yelled. Yugi smirked.

"Well, there is one way to find out." He said slyly. The three of them turned to face Tea.

- - - - - - - - - -

Seto Kaiba stared down at the 3 cards on his desk; the Blue Eyes White Dragons. His most prized possession, the dragons that had made him a legend. Beside them lay a stack of cards, the remainder of Kaiba's deck. Kaiba growled and snatched them up, fanning them out to look at them.

"I've spent my entire life collecting the most powerful and rare cards ever created." He growled. "And they were beaten by a bunch of useless fairies!" Kaiba marched to his office window and undid the latch holding one of the panels closed. With a final look of disgust, Kaiba flung his cards out the window, watching as they flitted to the ground below. He turned back to his desk and picked up the 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons, slipping them in his pocket. He also reached into his desk and pulled out his cheque book.

"Washed up? I'll show that pumped-up cheerleader who's washed up!" He snapped. Kaiba stomped to his office door and marched into the hall. His secretary looked up from her desk as he walked past.

"Mr. Kaiba sir, where are you?" She asked meekly. Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"Shopping."

- - - - - - - - - -

"Dis is fer all da times you beat me, Tea." Joey said. Tea smiled.

"We'll see Joey, we'll see." She said to herself. Yugi leaned over to Tristan on the couch. Joey and Tea had taken up dueling positions on his coffee table.

"So how long do you think he'll last?" He asked. Tristan snickered.

"I give him 5 turns." He replied. Joey whipped his head around.

"Ya got something' to say Tristan?" He yelled. "Didn't think so. I'll start things off Tea, with a little number called 'Rocket Warrior' (1500, 1300)." After so long of dueling with the Duel Disks, Joey kind of missed the holograms they projected. But he made due with flipping the card over and over between his fingers in the air for a minute before slamming it onto the table. Tea sweat-dropped. "I'll also place dis face down and end my turn." Joey said. Tea nodded.

"I summon 'Maha Vailo' (1550, 1400), and activate the Spell card 'Elf's Light' to increase his power by 400 points **(2)**. And thanks to his special ability, he also gets an extra 500 points!" Tea slipped the edge of the Spell under Maha Vailo (2450, 1200) to show who Elf's Light was equipped to. "And now I'll attack with Maha Vailo!" Joey grumbled and slipped his card into the Graveyard.

"Hey Joey, got any cool sound effects for that?" Tristan asked.

"Can it Tristan!" Yugi sighed and picked up a pad of paper to keep score.

-Tea: 8000, Joey: 7050-

"You're gonna get it Tea. I activate 'Landstar Forces'. This lets me summon any Landstar monsters in my hand to the field. So I'll summon 'Brigadier of Landstar; (900, 1200), 'Knight of Landstar' (1000, 700), and 'Swordsman of Landstar' (500, 1200). And next I'll sacrifice my 3 Landstar monsters to summon 'Gilford the Lightning' (2800, 1400). And since I summoned him with 3 Tributes, all your monsters bite the dust." Joey grabbed the TV remote and swung it like a sword onto the Maha Vailo card. "And I'm attackin' directly too!" He yelled, swinging the remote around.

-Tea: 5200, Joey: 7050-

"Not bad Joey." Tea said, smiling. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Joey grinned.

"Okay, let's keep going. I'll attack again to end my turn." Joey said. Tea nodded as Joey's attack wiped out 'Shining Friendship' (1300, 1100)

"I'll remove my two LIGHT Monsters from play to summon 'Soul of Purity and Light' (2000, 1800). And I'll add in my 'Celtus of Dagla' to give it an extra 500 attack points. And I'll also set 2 cards face down and end my turn." Joey nodded.

"Okay, you set 'em up and I'll knock 'em down. I summon 'Axe Raider' (1700, 1150). Gilford, attack!"

"Activate trap 'Rush Recklessly'." Tea said, flipping the card over. "This gives my monster an extra 700 points for a turn. And thanks to my monster's special ability, Gilford loses 300 points. So it's now 2500 attack points against 3200." Joey muttered under his breath and dropped Gilford into the Graveyard.

"I'll set dease two cards and end my turn."

-Tea: 5900, Joey: 6150-

"I'll draw, and summon 'The Agent of Peace- Neptune (1300, 1500). And since I summoned him, I can declare a type of monster, and as long as Neptune remains on the field, no attacks can be declared by that type of monster." Tea smiled sweetly as Joey's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't you dare Tea…" He threatened.

"Sorry Joey. I declare that Warrior types cannot attack." Tea said. Joey's eyebrow twitched again. "I'll then attack your Axe Raider with my Soul of Purity and Light."

"Hah! Activate face down cards 'Graceful Dice' and 'Skull Dice'." Joey reached into his pocket and frowned. "Hey Yug, you got a die?" He asked. Yugi got up and ran into the store part of the shop, picking up a packet and tossing it to Joey.

"You have to pay for those tomorrow." He told Joey.

"Sure Yug." Joey said. He put a die in each hand. "My right hand is da Skull Dice, and the left one is the Graceful Dice, ok?" He rolled the dice. The Graceful Dice landed on 4, the Skull dice on 6. Joey cheered as the two cards powered up Axe Raider (2100, 1150) and weakened the Soul of Purity and Light (1900, 1800). "And dat's dat!" Joey shouted.

-Tea: 5700, Joey: 6150-

"You're doing well so far Joey, but I'm not giving up, win or lose." Tea said. "This duel is just getting started."

**1: As we hear in an early episode, Tea regularly beats Joey. That is of course, before Grandpa Muto trained him**

**2: Since Yugi identifies with this card, I figured Maha must be a guy.**


	4. Archlord versus Gilford

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 4

Archlord versus Gilford

"It's my move now, Tea. I summon 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800, 1600). And I'll throw in my Spell card 'The Allied Forces', which gives Gearfried and Axe Raider an extra 200 points for every Warrior on my field. And thanks to Neptune, I gotta end my turn now." Joey muttered. Tea looked over Gearfried (2200, 1600) and Axe Raider (2100). Neptune wasn't going to hold Joey off forever, and the more she waited, the more monsters he summoned, and the stronger Allied Forces made them.

"You got it Joey, no attacking for your Warriors. I summon 'Agent of Life-Jupiter' (1400, 1500). And I'll activate his special ability, and pay 1000 Life Points to call back a Fairy monster from my graveyard. So I'll summon back my Soul of Purity and Light. Then I'll set a card and end my turn." Tea said.

"I activate 'Graceful Charity, and draw three cards, then discard two." Joey said. He drew and grinned. "And I think I'll get rid off 'Mage Power' and 'United We Stand'."

"Joey, you've lost it, those are some of the best Equip Spells in the game!" Tristan muttered.

"Keep ya pants on Tristan, I've got a plan!" Joey shot back.

"Considering how a lot of your plans go, that's not very reassuring."

"As I was sayin', I set a card face-down, and set a monster in defense mode." Joey finished. Tea drew, and smiled.

"Ok Joey, here goes! I activate my Spell card 'The Sanctuary in the Sky'! And I also summon 'Warrior of Zera' (1600, 1600). And now for my grand finale! I tribute Warrior of Zera to summon 'Archlord Zerato' (2800, 2300)." Tea slapped the large, winged creature's card onto the table. "And next, I'll activate his special ability, and discard 'Airknight Parshath' (1900, 1400) to destroy all of your monsters." Joey's jaw dropped. "And now, Jupiter, Soul, Neptune, Zerato, attack directly! I think that's game over Joey."

"I ain't out yet!" Joey growled. "Activate 'Scapegoats'." Tea sighed.

"Then I'll have all my monsters destroy your Scapegoats. And I'll place a card face-down to end my turn."

-Tea: 4700, Joey: 6150-

"Now you're gonna pay Tea. I activate 'Pot of Greed', and draw two cards. Then I'll activate 'Monster Reborn' to revive the face-down monster you destroyed, my 'Trojan Horse'. Then I'll sacrifice my horse to summon 'Gilford the Legend' (2600, 2000). And since Gilford was summoned. I can equip all the Equip cards in my Graveyard to 'im! And I'm also playing my 'Offerings to the Doomed' to destroy your Neptune, which means my Gilford can attack!" Tristan blinked.

"I'd never though I'd say this, but Joey made a smart move." He muttered. Joey slipped Mage Power and United We Stand under Gilford (4600, 3800). He grinned and waved his finger over Tea's cards.

"Let's see 'ere, eenie, meanie, minie…ah forget it, I'm attacking Zerato." Tea cringed.

"Activate trap 'Divine Barrier'." Tea said, flipping the card up. "This card prevents all my LIGHT monsters from being destroyed in battle, and all I have to do is negate their effects." Joey grumbled and crossed his arms.

"I'll draw, and pay 500 Life Points to keep Divine Barrier in play. Then I place a card face-down and end my turn." Joey nodded.

"I'll summon 'Blue Flame Swordsman' (1800, 1600). And this gives my Gilford an extra 1000 points due to Allied Forces and United We Stand. I'll end my turn there." Tea sighed.

"You did well Joey, but now I have to win. I'll let my Divine Barrier go to the Graveyard, and then I'll activate my trap 'Beckoning Light'. I have to discard my hand, but then I can bring a LIGHT monster in the Graveyard back to my hand for every card I discard. So I'll retrieve and discard Airknight Prshath, to activate Zerato's special ability." Joey's shoulders slumped.

"Just get it over with." He muttered. Tea nodded.

"I attack directly with all my monsters. Game over Joey."

-Tea: 4200, Joey: 0000-

"Ah well. Good duel Tea." Joey said, shaking her hand. Tea nodded.

"You too." Joey faked a yawn.

"Well it's late, I gotta go Yug." He said. He slipped on his shoes and ran out the door.

"Think he's mad about losing again?" Tea asked. Tristan smirked.

"He's just going home to eat, he'll forget about it by morning." Tristan looked at his watch. "I have to go to. See ya Yugi." He said. Tristan slipped on his coat and ducked out the door. Tea and Yugi watched him go, then turned to each other.

"Should we go to bed now too?" Tea asked. Yugi smiled.

"Well, Grandpa's out of town, so there's no rush. How about a movie?" He asked. Tea smiled and pulled herself onto the couch next to him.

"Sounds great." She said.

- - - - - - - - - -

"These are fresh from Industrial Illusions, 200 cases, 50 boxes each, 24 packs per box." The deliveryman grunted, sliding up the door to the back of his truck. Kaiba nodded.

"I'll take them." He said with a smirk. The deliveryman laughed.

"Nice try pal, but I can't sell them, they ain't mine. I gotta deliver these to the card shops, you can buy these from them." Kaiba whipped out his chequebook and scribbled.

"Here." He muttered, slapping the cheque into the deliveryman's chest.

"Now hold on, you can't just…" The man trailed off as he looked at the cheque. "Holy shit…are you nuts?" He asked, looking at Kaiba.

"There's a fine line between obsession and madness." Kaiba growled.

"Yeah, and something tells me you forgot about that line." The man muttered, scratching his head.

"You want more, you can drive this truck to Kaiba Corp for me." Kaiba told him. The man looked at the cheque and nodded.

"Deal." He said, climbing in the front of the truck. He turned the key and glanced at Kaiba as the CEO sat beside him. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking, what's so important that you'd spend so much on a bunch of cards?" The man asked. Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

"Revenge."

- - - - - - - - - -

_"How do I get myself into these things?" _Tea moaned mentally. She was still in Yugi's living room, still watching the movie. It was some sort of movie from North America, about a science professor and some sort of green goo. There were subtitles luckily, and with her English classes, Tea could understand what was going on, although the concept of a little ball of green goop having its own mind was a little much for her to believe. But the movie wasn't the problem.

At some point, she had complained she was cold, so Yugi had gotten a blanket. Tea only wore it on the condition they share so Yugi wouldn't get cold too. Bad idea. Tea gulped so loudly she was sure Yugi would hear. _"We're alone, it's late, and we're under a blanket watching a movie. It's official, this is a setup from every cheesy romance novel I've ever heard of." _She thought.

"Are you okay Tea?" Yugi asked. Tea refused to make eye contact, seeing as how she was pretty sure her face resembled a tomato right then.

"I'm fine." She assured him. Yugi nodded and shifted a little closer to Tea. Tea looked up at the clock. Almost eleven, late for her. By the time the movie ended and she and Yugi got to bed, it would be well after midnight. Tea frowned and leaned her head down. She didn't take the time to consider just where she was laying it. Until she felt an arm around her shoulders. She peeked out of the corner of her eye. Yugi's arm had been placed around her shoulders, but his eyes were fixed on the television. But Tea noticed his cheeks growing red…

_"At least I'm not the only nervous one here." _Tea tried to keep concentrating on the movie, but sleep and the thrill of her current position with Yugi worked together. She fell asleep on Yugi's shoulder.

**A chapter dedication to the first reviewer to tell me what movie Yugi and Tea are watching.**


	5. Double Jeopardy

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 5

Double Jeopardy

"So how much have you saved up for dance school Tea?" Yugi asked, sipping his soda. The two of them were at a corner café the day after their little…movie snuggle, as Tea was mentally referring to it.

"I have enough for a semester, but I don't have enough to pay for an apartment." She muttered. "New York is a crowded place, and I can't find a place to stay there yet." Yugi nodded sympathetically.

"Don't worry Tea, you'll figure something out, you always do." Yugi coaxed. Tea smiled.

"Thanks Yugi." She whispered. A few tables over were two young men sitting sipping black coffee. One of them peered at Tea through his sunglasses and frowned.

"Hey, Cyrus." Dorien snapped, elbowing his brother. Cyrus coughed and split his coffee on the ground. Cyrus shot Dorien a nasty look. "Look over there, ain't that the cute little bloke the boss wants?" Dorien pointed to Tea. Cyrus followed his finger and nodded.

"Yeah, that's her alright. Reckon we'd better get Vick?" He asked.

"No way, he'd just take all the credit to score points with Rochelle. I say we take her on our own."

"Good idea." Cyrus snickered. The brothers stood up and approached Yugi's table. "'Scuse me boy." He said, pushing Yugi's chair back and pulling up his own. Tea glanced at Dorien as he pulled his own chair up right next to hers.

"Say love, what's a lovely thing like you doing with a loser like him?" He asked, jerking his thumb at Yugi. Tea glared.

"Yugi's my friend, he's more of a man then you'll ever be! Weren't you with that punk from yesterday?" She asked. Dorien grinned.

"You've got a sharp tongue on you love. I like that." He reached to grab Tea by the chin. "Let's see what else that tongue is good for, shall we?" He grinned, leaning closer. Tea tore her head away and jammed her elbow in Dorien's stomach. Dorien doubled over and gasped. Tea stood up.

"Now hold up there." Cyrus snarled, getting to his feet. "Ya can't just treat Dorien like that, he's a master duelist!"

"You're damn right I am." Dorien coughed, regaining his composure. "Vick wants you, little bloke. No I ain't never hit a lady, especially one like you before, but if you try a stunt like that again I'll be tempted. Come along now, Vick wants to play with you." Tea snorted.

"I didn't like your boss yesterday, and I don't now. I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, come on love, he just wants to spar with the Queen of Games. You know, make sure your little win against Kaiba weren't a fluke. Unless you're too scared to take us on." Dorien sneered.

"Yeah, if you're so hot, what say we handicap? If you're that strong, you should be able to take both of us at once." Cyrus chuckled. The two brothers reached to their forearms and flipped on their Duel Disks. Yugi stood up and took his place at Tea's side.

"You can't do that, two on one ain't fair!" He protested.

"Ya ever heard of the golden rule kid?" Cyrus asked with a snicker. "Cause it don't mean squat. So unless you want a peace of us too, you'd best butt out now." Yugi smiled and turned on his own Duel Disk.

"I'll do you one better." He said. "You want to beat Tea because she's the Queen of Games? How about we tag team and make it a two-fer, you two versus the King and Queen of Games." Yugi offered. Dorien whipped off his sunglasses.

"Holy shit, you're Yugi Muto!" He gasped. "We came for da girl, Muto, not you."

"Take it down a notch Dorien." Cyrus coaxed. "Muto's just used to dueling Kaiba. He wouldn't know how to handle real duelists like us!"

"Good point Cyrus. Alright you little runt, we'll tag-team. Us two against the Dueling Royalty. And once we beat both of you, we'll take you to see Vick, and he can put your little girlfriend in her place!" Cyrus and Dorien marched out onto the street. Tea took a breath and followed them, Yugi beside her. The second the two of them stepped to stand opposite Dorien and Cyrus, a murmur swept through the crowd at the café.

"Oh geez, is that them?"

"It's da King and Queen!"

"Those two are toast for sure." Dorien and Cyrus drew their opening hands.

"You two are done! Today's the day the King and Queen of Games get dethroned!" Yugi and Tea drew their cards.

"You ready Tea?" Yugi asked. Tea nodded.

"Read to teach a bunch of big-mouthed punks that they can't mess with us? I was born ready Yugi." Then, the four of them shouted the same two words.

"LET'S DUEL!" Dorien grinned and drew.

"You don't know what you're up against, kiddies. You two are about to be thrown into a realm of darkness, and I'm about to start your plunge. I summon 'Brron, Mad King of Dark World' (1800, 400)!" A white-blue skinned man with a black trenchcoat rose in front of Dorien in a burst of dark light. Brron threw back his head and laughed. "I'll also set two cards face down and end my turn." Dorien said, mimicking Brron's laugh. Yugi nodded. Tea shot a glance at his nervously. Yugi hadn't dueled a human opponent since Yami went back to the spirit world. He got the new cards and dueled the KC2000 Computer at Kaiba Land, but this was his fist actual duel in a while. How would he fare?

"Alright. I summon 'Silent Swordsman Lv3' (1000, 1000)." A small man in a coat jumped onto Yugi's field, clutching a sword that by all logical means, was far too big for him to hold upright. But he managed. "And I'm activating my Spell Card 'Level Up!' to send my Swordsman too the Graveyard to summon 'Silent Swordsman Lv5' (2300, 1000)!" The little soldier grew to teen size, and his sword grew even longer. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Yugi finished.

"My move, runt." Cyrus sneered. "I summon 'Infernal Queen Archfiend' (900, 1500). I'm setting another two cards face down and ending my turn." Tea nodded.

"Then it's my move. I summon 'Dunames Dark Witch' (1800, 1050). And I add in my Spell Card 'Celtus of Dagla'. Now whenever my monster does damage to you, the Life Points you lose are added to mine."

"That's so cute, a little fairy in a realm of darkness." Dorien snickered. Tea growled.

"Dark Witch, attack his monster!" She commanded. Dark Witch (2300) flew and slammed into Brron with a flash of white light.

-Tea: 8500, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 7500, Cyrus: 8000-

"Not bad." Dorien growled. "I activate my Spell Card 'Graceful Charity' to draw three cards and discard 2. And since I discarded him, my monster returns to the field! Meet 'Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World' (2300, 1400)!" Dorien snickered. "That's the power of the Dark World, runts. Whenever one of my Dark World monsters is discarded, they come right back to the field. With power like this on my side, and my brother's Archfiends ready to crush you as well, you two are as good as done! I activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Celtus of Dagla! Now Goldd, destroy her fairy!" The large golden fiend roared and slammed its fist into the ground. A fissure sprang up below Dark Witch and swallowed her.

-Tea: 8000, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 7500, Cyrus: 8000-

"My turn now." Yugi said. "I summon 'Ultimate Insect Lv3' (1000, 1000). And I activate 'Swords of Revealing Light', which blocks all of your attacks for 3 turns. Then I end my turn." From an alley, a pair of eyes watch Yugi's move.

"Da King an' Queen of Games duelin' on a tag-team. Dat's hardly fair." Vick growled. "But it don't matter. Once Cyrus and Dorien lose, I'll know all of deir cards by hart. Den I can take down da runt easy, and Rochelle can have da Queen." Vick snickered.

"Before dis day is done, dere's gonna be a new duelin' couple in town!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"Excuse me sir." The guard said. The man in the chair at the end of the banquet hall turned his chair around. "You requested notification if Seto Kaiba should become an active duelist again. He dueled last night at Kaiba Land."

"Really? Well, I was wondering how long Kaiba-boy would be in the off season. Who did he beat?"

"Actually sir, he lost. To Tea Gardner." The guard explained. "And according to our public relations manager says that the public has now dubbed her the Queen of Games." The man sipped his wine and smirked.

"Interesting. I want a private helicopter at Domino within an hour. Bring Tea here. If the public is calling her the Queen of Games, I think we should see if she really is." The guard nodded and left.

"So, Kaiba has lost to Tea. Well, that can't be good for the old ego. One thing you can about Kaiba-boy, he certainly doesn't give up without a fight." Taking a moment to laugh at his own joke. Pegasus smirked and sipped the last of his wine.

"Queen of Games, eh? Well Tea, that shall see."


	6. Send in the Fiends

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 6

Send in the Fiends

"It's my turn ya little squirt." Cyrus sneered. "I'll pay 500 Life Points to keep my Infernal Queen in play. Then I activate the special ability of my Infernal Queen, and increase her ATK by 1000 points. Then I summon 'Terror King Archfiend' (2000, 1500). I'll end my turn there." Tea drew.

"I summon 'Shining Angel' (1400, 800), and activate the Spell Card 'Last Will'. This card lets me summon a monster with 1500 or fewer ATK points when one of my monsters is sent to the Graveyard. Now, Shining Angel, attack Cyrus' Terror King!" The winged man flew and got slashed to pieces by Terror King.

-Tea: 7400, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 7500, Cyrus: 8000-

"You've lost it!" Cyrus laughed. Tea smiled.

"Don't be so sure. When Shining Angel is sent to the Graveyard, a LIGHT monster with 1500 or fewer ATK points can be summoned from my deck. So now I summon 2 'Hoshinigen' (500, 700)." Two yellow star-shaped creatures flew from a rainbow that appeared arching over Tea's head. "And thanks for their special effects, all LIGHT monsters gain 500 ATK, and all DARK monsters lose 400 ATK!" The two monsters (1500, 700) spun and glowed a bright yellow, sending a flurry of rainbow arches over the field.

"Ah shit, do something Cyrus!" Dorien cried, staring at his monster (1500, 1400). Cyrus gulped as the rainbows hit Terror King (1200, 1500) and Infernal Queen (100, 1500).

"Now Hoshinigens, attack Cyrus' Archfiends!" Tea commanded. The two fairies spun again, this time right into the King and Queen. Cyrus screamed as the Fiends crumbled to dust before his eyes. "I'll set this down and end my turn."

-Tea: 7400, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 7500, Cyrus: 6300-

"You're gonna pay for that you runt!" Dorien snarled. "I set a monster in defense mode, and switch my Goldd into defense as well." Yugi nodded.

"I draw, and sent my Ultimate Insect Lv3 to the Graveyard to summon 'Ultimate Insect Lv5' (2300, 900). And thanks to his special ability, all of your monsters lose an extra 500 ATK points!" Yugi smiled at Tea and flashed a thumbs up. "I summon 'Silent Magician' (1000, 1000)." A tiny mage in a light blue robe rose onto the field. "Now my monsters, attack Cyrus directly!" Silent Swordsman (3300, 1000), Silent Magician (2000, 1000), and Ultimate Insect all fired beams of energy at Cyrus. Cyrus screamed as a cloud of smoke blew up in his face.

-Tea: 7400, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 7500, Cyrus: 0000-

"Cyrus, how the hell could you lose?" Dorien roared.

"You could have used your monsters to defend me, it's your own fault!" Cyrus snapped back.

"How is it my fault you can't take care of yourself? You're the older one, I should have to bail you out!" Dorien growled and turned his attention away from his fallen brother. "Since my big bro is too much of a wimp, I'll take his turn for him. I'll set another monster face down and that's all." Dorien flashed Cyrus a dirty look. "Now watch how a REAL duelist duels!" He snickered.

"I draw, and activate my Spell 'Swords of Revealing Light'!" Tea ordered. With Yugi's swords already forming a cage around Dorien and his monsters, Tea's swords weren't that noticeable. Dorien's 2 'Scarr, Scout of Dark World' (500, 500) flipped themselves up.

"You really have lost it. I already can't attack you." Dorien laughed.

"I know, but my move wasn't about you attacking. It was about getting your monsters face up. I remove Dunames Dark Witch and Shining Angel from play to summon 'Soul of Purity and Light' (2000, 1800). Then I activate my trap card 'Windstorm of Etaqua'!" A large tornado kicked up, covering Dorien's monsters. "My trap card changed the positions of all your face up monsters!" Goldd and the Scouts rose from their kneeling positions. Dorien paled.

"Ah shit…" He whispered.

"Hoshinigens, attack his Scouts! Soul, attack Goldd!" The three monsters leapt into action. Dorien cringed as all his Dark World monsters shattered like glass.

-Tea: 7400, Yugi: 8000, Dorien: 3000, Cyrus: 0000-

"At this rate, that guy isn't going to last another turn." Someone one in the crowd whispered.

"What did you expect, look who he's dueling!" Someone else said. Dorien snarled and drew. He smirked and looked up at Yugi and Tea.

"It's time I about ended our little game here and now. I play 'Pot of Greed' to draw two card. Then I activate 'Card Destruction', which forces us to discard our hands and draw new ones. "And since I'm discarding them, I'll revive another Wu-Lord Goldd and 'Sillva, Warlord of Dark World' (2300, 1400). Then I activate my trap 'The Forces of Darkness', and return two Dark World monsters in my Graveyard to my hand." Dorien smiled and held up a single card.

"This is it for you, runts. I sacrifice Goldd and Sillva to summon this!" A large vortex opened in the ground under Goldd and Sillva, and pulled them in. Then a new Dark World monster rose from the vortex. This new beast was covered head to toe in shining white armor. The metal gleamed as the new fiend roared and let loose it's fury.

"I summon 'Platnim, God of Dark World' (3000, 2300)!" Dorien laughed. "And thanks to his special effect, I can pay half my Life Points when he's summoned to destroy all your Spell and Trap card, so wave good bye to your Swords of Revealing Light. Now Platnim, attack the Ultimate Insect!" Platinim roared and slammed its fist into the bug.

"Hold there!" Tea yelled. "Thanks to the combined effects of our monsters, Platinim loses 1600 ATK points!" Dorien smirked.

"Really? Look again!" He chuckled. Platinim (3000) slammed into the insect and pummeled it into the ground. "Besides being the hardest to summon and most powerful monster in the entire Dark World, he also has a rather nasty ability. Whenever he attacks, all of your monster effects are negated!" Dorien smiled. "So your monsters don't weaken him a bit. I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

-Tea: 7400, Yugi: 7300, Dorien: 1500, Cyrus: 0000-

"We can't lose now." Tea said to herself. "His monster's effect only negates our effects during his Battle Phase, so during our turns…" Tea smiled as she found the weakness if Platnim. "I summon 'Maha Vailo' (1550, 1400). Maha Vailo, attack his monster!" The Spellcaster twirled his staff and shot a bead of light at Platnim. Dorien sneered.

"Too bad, girlie. I reveal the trap 'Skill Drain'!" The trap flipped up and sent out a swirling wave of yellow power. All of Yugi and Tea's monster wavered in the effect. "It costs me 1000 Life Points, but as long as it remains on the field, all monsters have their effects negated, and not just for purposes or battle, but _permanently_!" Tea gasped as Platnim blocked Maha Vailo's beam and reflected it back with a punch of his pearly white fist. Maha Vailo exploded as it was hit with it's own attack.

-Tea: 5950, Yugi: 7300, Dorien: 500, Cyrus: 0000-

"It's move again." Dorien snickered. "And until you 2 can cook up a monster with 3100 or more ATK points, I currently can't be beat. Platnim, attack Hoshinigen!" The beast roared and flattered the little fairy with one blow. "And I'll activate my Spell card 'Sebek's Blessing', to increase my own Life Points by an amount equal to the damage your just took."

-Tea: 3450, Yugi: 7300, Dorien: 3000, Cyrus: 0000-

"Don't worry Tea, I've got a plan." Yugi assured her, drawing his card. _"At least I hope I do. Thanks to his Skill Drain trap card, I can't level up my monsters anymore. There has to be something else."_ "I'll set a monster in defense mode and switch all my other monsters into defense mode as well. I'll set a card face down to complete my turn." He said. Dorien drew.

"Damn, no monster. Oh well. With Platnim, I don't need any other monsters. Platnim, attack her other Hoshinigen!" The Fiend slammed another punch, and gave Hoshinigen the gift of its own crater. "I'll set this card face down and that's all for me."

-Tea: 950, Yugi: 7300, Dorien: 3000, Cyrus: 0000-

"I'll draw." Tea said shakily. "I'll set a monster in defense mode." At her words, Dorien burst out laughing.

"And with that move you seal your own fate. Reveal trap 'Shadow of Eyes'!" He commanded. Tea gasped as 'Fire Princess' (1300, 1500) flipped up. "My trap not only flips your monster up, but switches it to attack mode as well!" Dorien leered. "So hurry up and end your turn, Platnim is getting angsty." Tea gulped.

"I can't do anything else." She muttered, hanging her head. "I'll end my turn." Tea looked up at the sneering face of Dorien. "I guess my victory against Kaiba really was just luck." She said.

"You're damn right it was!" Dorien snapped. "Platnim, attack Fire Princess and deplete her Life Points!" Platnim raised his fist and leapt into the air, aiming straight for Fire Princess. "Good bye, your Majesty!" Dorien laughed.


	7. Summon: The Angel From Above

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

**I felt bad about my cliffy last time, so early update.**

Chapter 7

Summon: The Angel From Above

"It's over!" Platnim's fist sailed through the air into Fire Princess, and was met with a crackle of electricity. Platnim roared and jumped back, leaving Fire Princess unharmed. Dorien's jaw dropped. "What the hell just happened?" He demanded.

"You seem to have forgotten you're dueling _two_ duelists here, Dorien." Dorien's head snapped around to glare at Yugi. Or more specifically, the Trap card in front of him. "This Trap card is called 'Magical Trick Mirror', and at a cost of half my Life Points, I can use a Spell card from your Graveyard. And I'm activating Card Destruction!"

"That makes no sense, I got nothing to discard!" Dorien protested.

"You don't, but I'm discarding my 'Electromagnetic Turtle' (0000, 1800). When this monster is discarded by a card effect, I can end your turn whenever I want, which means your attack can't complete itself. Tea's fine, and so is Fire Princess!" Tea stared at Yugi.

"Yugi, you gave up half your Life Points, have you lost it?" She asked. "I can take a loss, focus on beating Dorien!" Yugi shook his head.

"No way Tea, we're a team. If one of us loses, we both lose, and I'm not going to let that happen." Tea smiled.

"Yugi…"

"You should listen to the girl, Muto." Dorien growled. "You only delayed the inevitable, I still have Platnim on the field, and I can crush her next turn as easily as I could this turn. You forget, it's your turn next, and that means her monster is still stuck in attack mode. Your last-minute save did nothing but weaken you!"

-Tea: 950, Yugi: 3650, Dorien: 3000, Cyrus: 0000-

"I'll make my move." Yugi said. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

"Told ya you couldn't stop me!" Dorien roared. "Now Platnim, attack Fire Princess!" The Field once again swung its fist.

"Activate 'Shift'!" Yugi commanded. A black doorway opened behind Fire Princess and pulled it in. A face down card came in its place. Platnim barreled into Silent Magician and destroyed it. "My Shift card lets me redirect your attack to another monster on the field. Tea is still safe!" Dorien snorted.

"I'll set this card face down and end my turn." He muttered. "Let's see if the girl can save herself this time instead of depending on you." Dorien snickered. Tea sighed.

_"Yugi keeps putting himself in danger, just to save me." _Tea thought sadly. _"I would have lost in a one-on-one duel by now. I shouldn't be in this duel anymore, I'm here because Yugi saved me. And if I can't take care of myself, I'm just holding Yugi back. I should just forfeit and let Yugi duel Dorien by himself." _Tea opened her mouth to announce her decision, but Yugi cut her off.

"Don't listen to him Tea!" Yugi said. "You can duel great, Dorien's just trying to psyche you out. We can beat him together, I know we can. We can defeat Platnim, we just have believe we can. I can't beat Dorien alone, I need you here too, so ignore him and keep dueling!" Tea lifted her head and stared at Yugi. She nodded and looked up at Dorien.

"You want to beat us Dorien? That's not going to happen, because you're all alone in this! You could have saved your brother, but you let him lose because you didn't trust him to be able to help you."

"He didn't help me, he was worthless!" Dorien growled, glaring at Cyrus. "If he can't handle himself, why should I take care of him?"

"For the same reason Yugi saved me! It doesn't matter how good a duelist you are on your own, you can always be stronger when you let other people help you. Every deck has it weak points, but if you join forces with other people, their strengths can protect your weak spots, and you can do the same for them. You have nothing but Platnim protecting you now, and once he's gone, there's nothing you can do. If you had saved Cyrus, he might return the favor now, but it's too late!" Tea drew her card and smiled. "Because you need saving right now!" She told Dorien.

_"Please. There's nothing you can do."_ Dorien thought. _"Even if you summon a monster, my 'Blast Held by a Tribute' will destroy it, and you'll take damage equal to the monster's ATK. So go ahead and summon your monster, you'll just end up walking into your own doom once again."_ "If I need saving, then go ahead and show me what I need saving from!" He shouted.

"With pleasure. I sacrifice Soul of Purity and Light and Fire Princess. This let's me play this!" Tea slipped the card onto her Duel Disk, and Dorien went to activate his trap. Then he did a double take. _"That ain't a monster!" _He thought. **(Can't you just hear the Yugioh comeback music laying now?)**

"I activate 'Descending from Above!" Tea shouted. A ray of shining light shot out from her Duel Disk, blanketing the field. Dorien cried out and raised his hand to shield his eyes. "My Spell card lets me Ritual Summon and LIGHT Monster from my hand. So I now call on my strongest monster!" A purple fairy flew out of the disk. It had six golden wings, and two long arms, each holding a ball of shining white light. Yugi gasped.

"I know that card, that's…"

"I summon 'Shinato, King of a Higher Plane' (3300, 3000)!" Tea yelled. Dorien stared in horror as the fairy gently floated to the ground, crossing its arms and glaring at him. "Shinato, attack Platnim! Use your Divine Ring and slay his God! Your time in the Dark World is _over_, Dorien!" Shinato raised its arms and began to spin in place. A glowing white ring of energy circled it as it spun faster and faster. Shinato stopped spinning and held out its arms towards Platnim. The Divine Ring sliced through Platnim and towards Dorien. Dorien screamed and dove to the ground as the Ring passed overhead. He looked up and stared at the cut going right through the middle of Platnim.

"NO, Platnim!" He shouted. Platnim groaned and stepped back, holding its stomach in pain. It fell in two pieces, and Platnim's torso fell on top of Dorien, the hologram exploding as Platnim slammed into the ground. "NOOOOOOOO!"

-Tea: 950, Yugi: 3650, Dorien: 2700, Cyrus: 0000-

"Yeah, I knew you could do it Tea!" Yugi cheered. Tea smiled and nodded.

"Like I said, when duelists team up, there's nothing that can beat them!" Dorien coughed and slowly climbed to his feet.

"What was that little dive for, brother? Don't tell me you were afraid of a hologram!" Cyrus taunted.

"Shut your mouth Cyrus!" Dorien ordered. "I'm not done yet, you little bitch! Far from it, indeed. It's my turn now, and you're going to pay for that. I draw my card and…" Dorien drew his card and gasped. "No, no it ain't possible!" He cried. Cyrus laughed.

"Let me guess, you ain't got a thing, do ya Dorien?" He chuckled. "The girl was right, if you had protected me, I might have been able to protect ya. Too late now huh?" Dorien fell to his hands and knees.

"There's no way! I had the strongest monster, the perfect strategy. How could I lose?" He protested. Yugi shook his head sadly and drew his card.

"I play 'Level Up!' to sacrifice Silent Swordsman Lv5 to summon 'Silent Swordsman Lv7' (2800, 1000). Silent Swordsman, attack." Without a word, the fully grown warrior slashed and sent a shockwave at Dorien. Dorien didn't even notice the dropping point counter on his Duel Disk.

-Tea: 950, Yugi: 3650, Dorien: 0000, Cyrus: 0000-

"It's impossible, there's no way I could lose." Dorien sobbed. Cyrus walked over to his younger brother and smacked him in the back of the head.

"Suck it up ya big baby, they won fair and square, quit your blubbering." Dorien snarled and stomped away. Cyrus rolled his eyes and smirked. He shot a glare at Yugi and Tea before following Dorien.

"I feel kind of bad for him now." Yugi muttered, scratching the back of his head. Tea nodded.

"Me too, but both of them were jerks, Dorien deserved it." She replied.

"I have to agree. He was all talk and no walk." A voice said, walking up behind Tea. Tea groaned.

"No way. Of all people, what are you doing here?" She asked, turning around. Mai Valentine shrugged.

"I was here for a stop over on my luxury cruiser **(1)**, and figured I'd check up on some old friends." She eyes Tea's Duel Disk and deck. "And judging from what I just saw, I'd say both of you have really gotten a lot stronger. Especially you Tea, when did you move on from those little fairies you used at Duelist Kingdom?"

"I still use Fairies, I just use stronger ones." Tea explained. Mai nodded and glanced around.

"Say Tea, ever since I got off here, I've heard there's some tough new duelist in town." She said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, word is here that she even beat Kaiba in three turns." Mai explained. Tea blushed grinned sheepishly.

"Eh heh heh…yeah, imagine that." She laughed. Mai frowned.

"Are you okay Tea, you're awfully red. I think your sudden increase in dueling skills is giving you a fever." She said. Yugi stifled a laugh.

"It's okay Tea, we should tell. Mai, that was Tea who beat Kaiba." Mai raised an eyebrow.

"You're joking, right? Tea's gotten better, but she's not even tournament material yet, let alone in Kaiba's league." Tea huffed.

"Hey, I did beat Kaiba, alright? Even if was just luck, I beat him, is that so hard to believe?"

"Honestly, yes." Mai said dryly. "Sorry Tea, but even from what I just saw, you've got a long way to go before you're anywhere near the big leagues."

"Mai, Tea has gotten better, you saw it. She even beat Joey." Yugi said.

"And? I beat Joey too, that means nothing." Mai replied.

"And maybe if I beat you?" Tea asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Tea, you're stronger, but there's no way you could beat me. You're not the only one who's gotten tougher, I've improved too." Mai laughed.

"Then duel me, and I'll show you just how strong I have gotten!" Tea snapped. Why did Mai always give her such a hard time?

"Alright Tea, if you insist." Mai said, taking a few steps back.

"Tea, you just finished dueling, are you up for this?" Yugi asked. Tea nodded.

"I have gotten stronger, Yugi, and I'm going to prove it. There's no way I'm going to let Mai get the best of me." Tea reshuffled her deck and slipped it back into her Duel Disk. "Alright Mai, let's duel!"

**Although they never say it on the show, Mai works for a luxury liner, dueling the passengers.**


	8. Cat Fight

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 8

Cat Fight

"I'll start this little party." Mai said with a smirk. "I summon 'Harpie's Brother' (1800, 600). Then I activate 'Elegant Egotist', which lets me call on any other Harpie from my deck. I'll use it summon 'Harpie Lady #1 (1300, 1400). My newest Harpie gives all my WIND monsters a boosted 300 ATK points. I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Tea nodded.

"I told you Mai, I've gotten stronger. But you're stilling using the same Harpie cards you always have. I summon 'Dancing Fairy' (1700, 1000)." A trio of fairies in long white gowns burst onto the field, giggling and dancing in a circle. "And I activate 'Celtus of Dagla', to boost their power by 500. Dancing Fairy, attack Harpie's Brother!" Each of the fairies (2500, 1000) grabbed a pair of daggers from her belt and leapt into the air.

"Reveal my trap 'Covering Fire'!" Mai ordered. Harpie Lady screeched and flew at the Dancing Fairies. It slicing into the monsters and ripped it to shreds. "When your monster attacks, I can add the ATK of my Harpie Lady to my Harpie's Brother, which means your attack is far too weak to hurt me." The super-powered Harpie's Brother (3700) screeched its laughter and leered at Tea. Tea grimaced.

-Tea: 6800, Mai: 8000-

"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." She said. Mai nodded.

"Nice try Tea, but so far things aren't looking good for you. I play 'Harpie's Hunting Grounds'. This gives all my Harpie's an extra 200 ATK and Def points."

"More points? Like they need anymore!" Tea protested. Mai ignored her.

"I summon 'Harpie Chick' (500, 500)." A blonde Harpie crowed softly and flew onto the field, winking at Tea and giggling. "And since I summoned a Harpie, my Field card destroys one of your face-down cards." Tea gasped as 'Call of the Haunted' glimmered and vanished. "Now Harpie Chick (1000, 700), Harpie's Brother (2300, 800), Harpie Lady (1800, 1600), attack her directly!" The three winged beasts flew directly at Tea, claws outstretched.

"Activate 'Mirror Force'!" Tea commanded. An invisible barrier rippled over her. As the three Harpies closed in for the kill, they passed through the barrier and exploded in a spray of powder. "My trap stops your attack and destroys all your Harpies!" Mai cursed.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn." She growled.

"It's my move now, and I summon 'The Agent of Creation-Venus' (1600, 0000). Then I pay 500 Life Points to summon 3 'Mystical Shine Ball' (500, 500). Now my Fairies, attack!" The four fairies fired beams of rainbow-colored light at Mai.

-Tea: 5300, Mai: 4900-

"You're going to pay for that." Mai muttered. "I play 'Monster Reborn' to revive my Harpie Lady #1. Then I play 'Revival of Egotist'. Now by removing an Elegant Egotist in my Graveyard from play, I can special summon any monster with 'Harpie' in the name straight from my deck. Now I summon 'Harpie's Pet Dragon' (2000, 2500)! And thanks to my Harpie Lady being on the field, she gets a little power bonus. Harpie's Pet Dragon, Harpie Lady, attack her little crystal balls!" The souped-up dragon (2600, 2500) roared and fired its flame at a Mystical Shine Ball. In the wake of the attack was Harpie Lady slicing into another Ball. The orb of light shattered and tingled to the ground like glass.

-Tea: 1900, Mai: 4900-

"I'm not done yet Mai." Tea scowled. "I play 'Angels' Wrath'! This card lets me offer 2 LIGHT monsters as Tributes, than I can declare a card name. All copies of the card in your hand, deck, field and Graveyard are then removed from play. And the card I'm removing is Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Mai gasped as the dragon slowly sank in the ground. She grudgingly removed the other Dragon from her deck and discarded it.

"Now I play 'The Sanctuary in the Sky', set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Tea said. Mai nodded.

"Harpie Lady, attack her monster!" The bird lady screeched and tore into the card.

"Reveal 'The Agent of Courage 'Pluto' (1000, 1000)! Thank you Mai. This monster has the power to even the score. As long as the Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field when he's destroyed in battle, I get enough Life Points to make our scores even. I'm back in this."

-Tea: 4900, Mai: 4900-

"I've gotta hand it to you Tea, you've learned some good tricks." Mai chuckled. "How about we just end the match here and call it a tie?" Tea shook her head.

"No way Mai. I usually duel for fun, but in this case, I'm dueling to win!" She declared.

"Look hun, you are doing pretty well, I'll give you that much. But in the end you're still going to lose. Don't make me take pity on you and let you win again."

"I'm not expecting you to, I'm…" Tea stopped. "Wait…what do you mean 'let me win again'?" She asked suspiciously. Mai sweat-dropped.

"Again? Did I say again?" she asked nervously. Tea narrowed her eyes.

"You've never dueled me, except for that time when Yugi lost to Kaiba…" Tea's eyes widened, and she pointed angrily at Mai. "You lost on purpose! You threw the match!" She accused. Mai rolled her eyes and flung up her hands.

"Well _duh_! I was going to give the star chips to Yugi, but you were so insistent on dueling for them, what was I supposed to do? All in all, I think things worked out, so what's the problem? You were good then Tea, and you're good now, but the simple fact is I'm just better. I'm not going to rub it in your face, but you can't win this. Just let this end and we can both move on." Tea growled and clenched her fist.

"Not now Mai, not after that. You cheated and let me win. You took pity on me because you didn't think I was strong enough. And back then, I probably wasn't. But that was then Mai and this is now. And now…" Tea smiled and whipped her next card from her deck. "Now I'm gonna take you down!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"Analyzing card database." The computer beeped. "Computing combos…tribute ratios…activation costs…attack power…drawing speed…deck construction complete." A print-out clicked out of the printer. Kaiba snatched it up and read over the card list. He smirked and started typing again.

"Analyzing deck power…comparing to previous deck configurations…tallying results…overall deck power is 189 percent higher then previous deck configurations." Kaiba nodded, satisfied. He picked up another print-out- this one of all the cards that Tea had played on her Duel Disk. He typed in the cards and hit a few more keys. "Comparing deck data 'Kaiba' to deck data 'Gardner'…analyzing combos…tribute ratios….activation costs…attack power…drawing speed…deck data 'Kaiba' is 157 percent more efficient then deck data 'Gardner'. Odds of winning: 4:1." Kaiba chuckled and hit another key.

"Running duel simulation..." The computer informed him Ten seconds later, it beeped again. "Winner: deck data 'Kaiba'." Kaiba hit the key again. "Running duel simulation…winner: Deck data Kaiba."

"Winner: deck data Kaiba."

"Winner: deck data Kaiba."

"Winner: deck data Kaiba." 5 minutes later, Kaiba had run over 30 simulations, and all of them had the same result: he was the winner." He slammed his fist on the keyboard and laughed, hitting the 'simulation' command again. He picked up his coat and marched out of his office. As the door clicked shut, the computer beeped.

"Winner: deck data Gardner."

**Yes, I know that Pet D's effect, Elegant Egotist, and Harpie's Hunting Grounds only work with Harpie Lady and Harpie Lady Sisters. But hey, they exclude the Brother and Chick, which isn't really fair. They're Harpies too!**

**Mai throwing the match to Tea always did tick me off. I think it's time Tea was clued in.**


	9. The Flight of the Phoenix

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 9

The Flight of the Phoenix

"It's my turn, and I play 'Hysteric Fairy' (1800, 600). Hysteric Fairy, attack Harpie Lady!" The angel smirked and fired a beam of pink light from its glasses. Harpie raised her wings in a futile attempt to block the attack.

-Tea: 4900, Mai: 4700-

"If you want to win Mai, you'd better go all out!" Tea yelled. Mai smiled and drew.

"You really don't know what you're asking Tea, but I'll be happy to show you. I summon 'Hand of Nephthys' (500, 500). And I'll remove my Harpie's Brother from play to call forth 'Garuda the Wind Spirit' (1600, 1200). And finally, I'll sacrifice my two monsters to activate the special ability of Hand of Nephthys." A bright red pillar of flame shot into the sky behind. Garuda and the Hand of Nephthys flew into the pillar, reduced to ashes in an instant. A glowing dark form appeared in the flame.

What is that?" Tea cried.

The pillar of flame dispersed to reveal a golden bird circling overhead. Flames covered its shining wings, and raced along its back to the tip of its long tail. The Phoenix crowed and flapped down to rest beside Mai. Tea gaped. "Behold 'The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys' (2400, 1600)!" Mai called.

"It's beautiful…"Tea murmured.

"Right you are Tea, and if you think she's beautiful now, just wait until she attacks. Sacred Phoenix, Wing Blade!" The flames on the Phoenix raced along its entire body, consuming it in flame. The Phoenix crowed again and took off, flying straight for Hysteric Fairy. The flaming firebird consumed it in the blaze and soared into the sky before landing back beside Mai.

-Tea: 4300, Mai: 4700-

"Your monster is strong Mai, but I'll beat it." Tea said. "I summon 'The Agent of Luck- Uranus' (1600, 1000). Uranus, attack the Sacred Phoenix." The little fairy flew at the bird, and Phoenix flapped her wings into the sky. Uranus flew after her and landed on Phoenix's back. Phoenix crowed and spun in mid-air, trying to dislodge Uranus as the fairy unsheathed a large sword on its back.

"I don't get it, Phoenix, destroy her monster!" Mai yelled.

"It can't Mai, because my monster has a special ability. When she attacks, I can flip a coin, and if it's heads, I can destroy your monster instantly." A large golden coin appeared in front of Tea and flipped high into the air. Mai watched as the coin spun and fell, spinning on its side for a moment before falling to a stop. On heads. Up above, Uranus let out a battle cry and drove its blade into the neck of Phoenix. Phoenix crowed in pain and spiraled down to the ground. Uranus leapt off and landed in front of Tea as Phoenix slammed into the ground behind Mai, bursting into flame. "I'll end my turn there." Tea said, smiling.

"Alright then Tea." Mai chuckled. A pillar of flame rose up behind her, and Phoenix flew out. Tea gasped.

"But I destroyed your Phoenix!" Tea protested.

"Come now Tea, don't you know the story of the Phoenix? Kill it, and its corpse will be consumed by flame. The Phoenix will then spring back to life from the ashes. And just like the legendary Phoenix, my monster will revive any time you destroy it using a card effect." Mai explained. "So it doesn't matter how many times your Uranus wins its little coin flips, because my Phoenix will come right back. And there's more. When my Phoenix returns from the Graveyard, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed. And without your Sanctuary in the Sky, you can't use Uranus' special ability. Phoenix, Wing Blade!" The bird flew again and wrapped a cocoon of flame around Uranus. Uranus roared in pain and sank to the ground in a pile of ash.

-Tea: 3500, Mai: 4700-

"It's my move." Tea said, drawing. "I activate the Spell card 'Offerings to the Doomed', which lets me destroy Phoenix." Mai sighed and shook her head as bandaged wrapped around Phoenix, constricting and crushing the monster.

"Tea, don't you ever learn? I told you, whenever you destroy Phoenix with a card effect, she comes right back on my next turn."

"I know Mai, but you seem to have forgotten that in the mean time, you're completely defenseless. I summon 'Fire Princess' (1300, 1500). Fire Princess, attack Mai directly!" The flaming maiden twirled her wands and sent a wave of fire at Mai.

-Tea: 3500, Mai: 3600-

"Nice trick Tea, but too little too late." Mai said. Phoenix crowed as the bandages around it burst into flame, freeing the bird. "Phoenix, attack her now!" the flaming bird soared and slammed into Fire Princess, picking her in her beak and crushing it.

-Tea: 2400, Mai: 3600-

"Alright Mai, but I'm not out yet." Tea muttered. _"But at this rate, I will be soon." _She thought. _"If I could summon Moisture Creature, I could beat that Phoenix and win. But there's no way Mai will let me get enough monsters to summon it." _"I'll set this monster and end my turn." Tea said. Mai drew and smiled.

"Sorry Tea, but your time just ran out. I activate 'Fairy Meteor Crush'. With this card, I can damage your Life Points even when your monsters are in defense mode. Phoenix, attack!"

"Reveal 'Magician of Faith' (300, 400). I'll use her special ability to return my Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand." Mai snorted.

"It doesn't really matter Tea, this is your last move." She said. Tea grimaced and looked at the cards in her hand. _"She's right, I'm out of monsters, and even if I did summon one, she'd wipe it out with no trouble."_ "I'll end my turn there Tea, so make your last move." Tea nodded and stared down at her Duel Disk.

-Tea: 400, Mai: 3600-

"O, okay." She said uneasily. _"Heart of the Cards, you always come through for Yugi and Joey. And now I need you to come through for me."_ Tea drew and gulped. "This is it Mai. I activate 'Graceful Charity, and draw three cards, discarding two." Tea drew and cheered. "I'll get rid of Moisture Creature and Sanctuary in the Sky. Then I activate Monster Reborn and revive my 'Moisture Creature' (2800, 2900). Next, I summon 'Hoshinigen' (500, 700), which gives my LIGHT monsters an extra 500 ATK points!"

"I told you Tea, it doesn't matter." Mai yawned. "You've only got 400 Life Points left, and once I summon my Cyber Harpie, I can wipe you out. You don't have enough power to win this turn, and you won't be winning at all."

"What makes you so sure Mai? Maybe you've forgotten, but it's still my turn, and I'm not done yet. I play 'Megamorph'!" Moisture Creature groaned. Mai's jaw dropped as the transparent hands and head grew a body. A rather _big _body. Moisture creature rose up to twice Tea's height, with its own legs and body. Its laser pistol grew bigger as well. "Thanks to this card, my Moisture Creature doubles its ATK as long asmy Life Points are lower then yours." The powered-up fairy (6100, 2900) flexed its newfound arms and roared. Its laser glowed brightly.

"Now, Moisture Creature, destroy the Sacred Phoenix!" Tea commanded. The fairy aimed and fired a beam of thin light at Phoenix. Phoenix roared in pain as the beam grew bigger, consuming its entire body. With a final crow of defeat, Phoenix exploded is a spray of glowing embers. "Now Hoshinigen, attack!" The star-shaped fairy fired its rainbow beam of light at Mai.

-Tea: 400, Mai: 0000-

Mai gaped.

"No way…" She muttered. Tea flicked off her Duel Disk and smiled, walking up to Mai and extending her hand.

"Nice duel Mai. You played a great game." Tea said. Mai shrugged and shook Tea's hand.

"You just got lucky Tea." Mai growled. But she quickly winked to dispel the attitude. Tea chuckled.

"Yeah, if I hadn't gotten that Graceful Charity, I would have lost for sure."

- - - - - - - - - -

"She won." Vick growled into his cell phone.

"That's enough Vick, I'm sick and tired of her. I'm at the pier, bring her here." The voice on the other line snapped.

"Rochelle, she's got Muto with 'er, he'll…"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of that little punk. Besides, that's good, now you don't have to hunt him down. You can take care of Muto, baby. Just leave his little girlfriend to me." Rochelle ordered. Vick smirked and clicked his phone shut before turning to Cyrus and Dorien.

"Take da blonde and Muto. Rochelle wants da girl." He said. Dorien and Cyrus snickered before walking onto the street.

"I had to do a lot of shopping around before I found Zerato…" Tea was telling Mai. Dorien cleared his throat, prompting Tea to turn around. "Not you again…what do you two want?" She asked impatiently.

"We was really impressed with your skills, and was wondering if you wouldn't mind a rematch with a fried of ours." Dorien explained.

"I don't think so." Tea snorted, turning back to Mai. Dorien sneered and grabbed her wrist.

"I wasn't askin'." He growled.

"Leave her alone!" Mai snapped. Cyrus snorted and put a hand up to block her. Mai pushed the hand away and slapped Cyrus across the face. Cyrus rubbed his jaw.

"Ya know something…I ain;t never hit a woman before." He made a fist and landed a swift uppercut on Mai's chin. The duelist went sprawling to the ground. Tea jerked her arm back and landed a knee to Dorien's stomach. Dorien groaned and fell to the pavement. Tea grabbed Yugi's hand to run when Vick clamped his huge hand on her shoulder.

"I don't tink so girl, remember me?" He laughed. Tea went to run, and Vick wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him with an arm around her neck. Vick smirked and looked around. "Anyone else wanna be a hero?" He shouted. The crowd that had gathered vanished. Dorien groaned and slowly got to his feet as Cyrus wrestled Yugi's arms behind him.

"You're gonna pay for that bitch." Dorien growled.

"Hold on dere Dorien, Rochelle wants her first." Vick snickered. Dorien snorted and glared at the struggling Yugi.

"Night night, your Majesty." Dorien sneered, slamming his fist into Yugi's face. Tea struggled in Vick's arms.

"Ya know, when ya aint' flappin' dat big mouth o' yers, yer kinda cute. Muto has good taste." Vick smirked. Tea glared and tried to kick Vick in the leg. Vick snorted and reached up to clamp a hand over Tea's mouth, his thumb pinching her nose shut. "Enjoy da nap, tings won't be pretty when ya wake up." Tea kept wailing her legs against Vick's, but as her air ran out, the blows grew lighter until Tea slumped down in Vick's arms. Vick threw Tea over his shoulder and nodded at Dorien and Cyrus. "Bring Muto." He commanded. Cyrus and Dorien picked up Yugi and followed Vick down the street."


	10. Like Clockwork

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 10

Like Clockwork

Yugi moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He lifted his head as the blurry world around him shifted into focus.

"Bout time ya woke up Muto, I was tired o' waitin'." Yugi looked up to see Vick standing a few feet away, laughing. Yugi looked around. The two of them were on a pier at the Domino Docks. Yugi was lying against the side of a boat. Vick was at the edge of the docks.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked, climbing to his feet.

"His name's Vick, future King of Games!" Yugi whirled around to see Cyrus and Dorien standing a few feet behind him. "Pardon our little struggle earlier your Highness, but we wanted to make sure you came along." Dorien snickered.

"Youse and me are gonna duel, Muto." Vick snapped, flicking on his Duel Disk. "And the prize at stake is your title of King of Games!"

"Are you nuts?" Yugi cried. "I'm out of here to find Tea!" Dorien laughed.

"I don't think so Muto. She ain't goin' no nowhere, not where we put her." Yugi clenched his fist and glared at the chuckling punks behind him.

"Where is she and what have you done to her?" He demanded.

"She's fine Muto, provided you duel me. Win, and we'll be more den happy ta take you to 'er." Vick said.

"Fine." Yugi said. "But once I win, you'll tell me where Tea is?" He asked.

"Surrrrrre, just win." Vick muttered. Yugi flipped on his Duel Disk. Vick smirked and drew his card. "I'll start dis party off with my 'Mighty Guard' (500, 1200)!" A tiny green machine clanked onto the field. "And I'll activate my Spell card 'Machine Duplication'. This lets me summon 2 more Mighty Guards from my deck. I'll end my turn dere." Vick lowered his Duel Disk and crossed his arm. "My first turn, and I've got three monsters. Good luck Muto!"

"You'll need luck once I'm through with you!" Yugi growled.

"Oh boss, I think we hit a soft spot with that little girlfriend of his!" Cyrus laughed. Yugi gritted his teeth and looked at his hand.

"I summon 'Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv4' (1600, 1000)."A shining gold and silver dragon soared out of the card. "Horus, attack Mighty Guard!" Horus opened its mouth and fired a purple fireball. The middle Guard melted into a pile of slag and smoking rubble. "I'll set a card face down, and level up my Horus to his Lv6 mode (2300, 1700) to end my turn."

-Yugi: 8000, Vick: 6900-

"No good duelist lets his weaker monster unprotected without Spell and Trap cards, everyone knows that!" Yugi shouted. Vick snorted and drew.

"A better duelist knows dat its important ta make sure you've got your opponent off his guard, like me an' you. I sacrifice my two monsters to summon 'Perfect Machine King' (2700, 1500)!" A gleaming white and red machine flew onto the field. Electricity crackled along its knuckles as it struck a pose. "Perfect Machine King, attack da little dragon!" The large machine clanked and fired a pair of rockets on its back. It flew towards Horus and slammed its iron fist right through the dragon.

"Activate trap 'Soul Rope'!" Yugi said. "At a cost of 1000 Life Points, I can now summon a 4 Star monster or lower from my deck. And I summon 'Ultimate Inset Lv3' (1400, 900)." The small insect buzzed onto the field and set onto the ground.

"It don't matter nothin', I can beat dat. I'll set dis and end my turn." Vick said. Yugi nodded.

"I level up my ultimate insect to his Lv 5 form (2300, 900). And due to his special effect, your Perfect Machine King loses 500 ATK points, making it weak enough to destroy!" _"I have to hurry up and beat him and find Tea. Who knows what these creeps have done with her." _"Ultimate Insect, attack!" The giant bug flapped its winged and zoomed towards Vick's monster.

"Ya little runt, ya fell for my trap! Activate 'DNA Surgery'! This makes all monsters of da field Machine types. And due to 'is special effect, my monster gains 500 points, so he's gonna crush your little bug!" Perfect Machine King mashed its fist into the oncoming insect. Yugi cringed.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." He muttered. Vick sneered.

"Good, cause I'm gonna end the duel! I summon 'Steamroid' (1800, 1800). Thanks to 'his effect, he gains 500 ATK points whenever he attacks! Steamroid, attack!" The locomotive chugged along the docks and drove right through 'Stone Golem Lv3' (700, 2000). Yugi gulped. "Perfect Machine King, attack him directly!" The machine (3200) raised its fist and rocketed it towards Yugi. Yugi cried out as the fist blew up in his face, sending him sprawling backwards.

-Yugi: 3000, Vick 6900-

"I told ya boys, dis chump is washed up!" Vick laughed. Yugi coughed. "Give it up Muto, ya can't win!" Yugi shook his head.

_"I can't lose, I just can't. I'll lose the title, and worse, I may never find out what they did with Tea." _"It's my turn Vick." Yugi growled, drawing. Vick stifled another set of laughter.

"Growlin' Muto? Ya really do care for dat little twerp cheerleader huh?"

"Shut up! Tea's a better duelist then you'll ever be!" Yugi snapped.

"You're a feisty one, I'll give ya that. But ya just can't win this." Vick mocked.

"I summon 'Silent Magician Lv4' (1000, 1000), and I'll play 'Swords of Revealing Light'!" Yugi shouted. 5 shining swords flew out of Yugi's Duel Disk. They wrapped around Vick's monsters, forming a glowing cage. "Then I play 'Pot of Greed', and draw two cards. I'll end my turn there." He said. _"If I can just get the right card, I can turn this duel around."_

"Go ahead and stall Muto, you're just wastin' time." Vick snickered. "I'll summon 'X-Head Cannon' (1800, 1500) and end my turn." Yugi looked at Perfect Machine King and gulped.

"I'll place a card down and end my turn." He said. _"I have to draw the right card next turn, or it's over."_

"My move Muto. I'll sacrifice X-Head Cannon and Steamroid to summon 'Ancient Gear Golem' (3000, 3000)!" A large titan of metal rose to the field, all manner of gears and chains working its body. "I'll end my turn." Vick said. Yugi gulped and stared at his deck.

_"This is it, I have to draw it now. Otherwise, there's nothing I can do…I have to win this. For Tea!" _Yugi closed his eyes and drew his card.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Hey Tristan!" Joey called, running up to his friend. Tristan looked up the hotdog cart he was at.

"Hey Joey, what's up?" He asked.

"Have you seen Yug and Tea, they were supposed ta meet me an hour ago by the school." Joey said. Tristan looked at his watch.

"I think they were having breakfast, but it's almost noon, they should be done." He mused. Joey shivered.

"Ah man, I just got that feeling again…" He muttered.

"What feeling?"

"I got it when we went to Duelist Kingdom, I got it when Battle City started, and I'm getting it now. That feeling that some psycho freaky-looking creepazoid is causing trouble for Yug."

"You think something happened?" Tristan asked.

"Yug and Tea wouldn't just run off Tristan. Something's up. C'mon, we've got friends to track down."

- - - - - - - - - -

Tea rubbed her head and moaned softly. Vick's little way of knocking her out had made her light headed. Tea looked around. She was inside a vast warehouse, except it was empty, save for a few boxes here and there. She flashed back to when Malik Ishtar and the Ghouls had kidnapped her and Mokuba. But where was the psycho behind this incident? Tea tried to find out, but the windows in the roof were covered with black tarp, sealing out all light.

"Look who's awake." A silky voice in the shadows murmured. Tea's head whipped around to stare at the source of the voice. A murky, faint shadow of a figure loomed out of the darkness. Footsteps echoed off the walls as the figure stepped closer. Then, there was a flash of light, and Tea covered her eyes. She blinked the light away and squinted. Two narrow spots of light were shining from the ceiling. One was directly above her. And below the other spotlight…

Black leather boots rose up to knee height, ending a few inches below a black leather skirt. Chains hung from buckles where the shirt began, stark white and embossed with the image of a grim-reaper holding a bloody scythe. A black leather jacket covered delicate shoulders, the sleeves running down to the hands, fingernails painted black. One hand wore a ring designed after a spider. The other hand had a ring with a large silver skull on it. The right arm bore a Duel Disk on the wrist.

A ring ran through the skin above each eyebrow, and two rings through the nose. A silver bolt ran through the lower lip, a starling contrast to pitch-black lips. Pitch black hair hung straight down in a style eeriely similar to Tea's own. Mascara covered theeyes, making them appear as large, empty sockets. The eyes themselves were an icy blue that reminded Tea of Kaiba's cold eyes. Tea got a chill. It wasn't very oftenshe got the impression of evil off of anyone. Dartz was one man who had it, Yami Malik was another, along with Yami Bakura. And this girl was right up there with them. Definitely a 9.9 on Tea's Really-Creeped-Out-O-Meter.

"Who…who are you?" Tea shouted. The girl's lip curled up in a sneer.

"Who am I? The name is Rochelle Harris. You can call me the Queen of Games."

**Given Tea's personality, it makes sense for her archrival to be a Goth, huh?**


	11. Light and Darkness

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 11

Light and Darkness

"What do you want with me?" Tea asked nervously. Rochelle chuckled.

"I think that should be obvious, Tea. I'm here for a duel." She sneered.

"What?" Tea gasped.

"But of course, why do you think I had my dear boyfriend Vick bring you here? It seems that ever since you beat Seto Kaiba, everyone thinks you're the world's best female duelist. I can't have that, can I? This match will be video recorded, so I can show everyone who the _real_ Queen of Games is!"

"Are you nuts?" Tea shrieked. "You had me kidnapped and brought here just to duel me and prove you're the best! That's insane! I'm out of here now."

"I don't think so." Rochelle yawned. "This warehouse is locked, and I have the only key. So if you want out I suggest you duel." Tea gritted her teeth.

"Where's Yugi?" She demanded. Rochelle smirked and flicked on her Duel Disk.

"Oh, your little boyfriend? Vick should be beating him in a duel right about now. And you're about to join him!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"I activate 'Level Modulation'!" Yugi shouted. "This lets me revive any Level monster in my Graveyard. It also lets you draw 2 cards." Yugi slipped Stone Golem Lv3 onto his Duel Disk, and the large statue kneeled on the field. "I'll end my turn there."

"My move." Vice laughed. "I summon 'Mechanical Chaser' (1850, 800). Now dat dere are 4 Machines on da field, my Perfect Machine King gains 2000 ATK points!" Vick shook his head and smirked. "Your move runt, and time's up on your Swords of Revealing Light." A bright ray of light shot out of Yugi's Duel Disk, and Vick gasped as the light covered Silent Magician "Wha? What's goin' on?" He demanded.

"The special ability of my Silent Magician activates. Since you've drawn 5 cards while he's been in play, I can not play 'Silent Magician Level 8' (3500, 1000)!" The large mage back-flipped out of Yugi's Duel Disk and shot a nasty glare at Vick. "And there's more, my Stone Golem levels up to 'Stone Golem Lv5' (1000, 2600). I'll just set this down and end my turn there." Vick snarled.

"You think a little mage is gonna stop me? I summon 'Gyroid' (1000, 1000). Perfect Machine King, crush dat little Magician!" The machine fired its rocket fist towards the mage.

Activate 'Reverse Trap'!" Yugi cried. Silent Magician twirled its staff and slammed the fist backwards towards Perfect Machine King. The fist hit its master directly in the chest, causing it to explode. "My trap card reverses the increases of attack power into decreases, meaning that for every machine on the field, your Perfect Machine King _loses _2500 attack points!" Vick's jaw dropped, along with his Life Points.

"And now it's my turn! Silent Magician, destroy Ancient Gear Golem!" The magician fired a white beam of magic at the Golem. It rusted over and crumbled into a pile of dust.

-Yugi: 3000, Vick: 3100-

- - - - - - - - - -

"I'll start off." Tea muttered. "I summon 'White Magician Pikuru' (1200, 0000). Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." The white mage giggled and leaned back against the hologram of the face down card behind it.

"That's all? Pitiful. I'll summon my own little magician, 'Ebon Magician Curran' (1200, 0000)!" A black suited mage rose in a burst of dark light. It almost looked like a mirror image of Pikuru, except for the darker costume. "And I'll play 'Ordeal of the Princess', to increase her power by 800 points. Ebon Magician, attack Pikuru!" Tea gaped as the mirror-imaged mages fought, Curran slamming her staff into Pikuru's head. Tea cringed.

"I'm not done yet. I set this card face down and end my turn." Rochelle laughed.

"Fine. I activate 'Dark Core'. All I have to do is discard a card from my hand, then I can remove one monster from play. Good bye Curran! And next I activate 'Dark Magic Curtain'. Now I can pay 1000 Life Points to summon a Spellcaster from my hand." Tea twirled her card between her fingertips and smiled. This next card wasn't just any card. Yugi had given it to her a gift when Tea had decided to fine-tune her dueling skills a little while ago. "Now say hello to one ofmy favorite monsters, 'Dark Magician Girl' (2000, 1700)!" The beautiful blonde magician rose onto the field with a spin. "Dark Magician Girl, attack!" The magician floated towards Rochelle and went to slam her head in with her staff. Then, as the blue staff sailed towards Rochelle, a red staff appeared and blocked the attack. A red-gloved fist came out of nowhere and slammed Dark Magician Girl in the cheek, knocking her to the ground beside Tea. Tea and Dark Magician Girl gaped as the monster floating beside Rochelle.

"No way…it can't be…" Tea whispered. The look was different. She had black hair, not blonde. Brown eyes, not green. Red armor, not blue. And the face was much more sinister looking. But it was the same monster.

"Are you surprised Tea?" Rochelle laughed. "Dark Magic Curtain lets both of us summon Spellcasters from our hands! So I can summon my own Dark Magician Girl!" The brunette and blonde magicians glared at each other as Tea's Dark Magician Girl rose to her feet. Tea regained her composure.

"That thing is not Dark Magician Girl! Yours is just an evil clone of the real thing!" Tea snapped. The brunette Dark Magician Girl growled and fired a beam of fire at Tea. The blonde Dark Magician Girl raised her hand and blocked the blow with a barrier. Rochelle chuckled as the two holographic women once again engaged in a staring contest.

"Down girl, you'll attack her in good time." Rochelle and the brunette Dark Magician Girl nodded at each other before both turning their attention back to Tea. "It seems this game has already become quite interesting, Tea. DMG is your favorite monster? What a coincidence, she's my favorite too. Look at them, they're practically mirror images. Except mine is much more beautiful."

"What would you know about beauty, you sicko?" Tea yelled.

"You think I don't know about beauty Tea? I know a lot more about it then you might think." Rochelle replied. "I used to be like you, until my eyes were opened to the world. There is beauty in the world, there is no doubt about that. But there is also ugliness. There is peace, but there is also war. There is good. But there is so much more evil. The bad things in the world far outnumber the good things Tea, and always have. I'm just smart enough to realize this. In a world of darkness, you can only rely on yourself, and all others be damned. The world of darkness is the world around us Tea, and once you realize that, you'll be no different from me." Tea lowered her head and clenched her fists.

"You're insane." She whispered. "You think this is a world of darkness? It's people like you who are to blame for that! Selfish people who only care about themselves and nothing else! People who strive to find the darkness and ignore the light will never see just how much light there really is! There are bad things in the world, and there always will be! But it's the good things that keep us going, keep us fighting the darkness. Things like family, friends, and…" Tea's thoughts drifted to Yugi. "And love."

"Love? Don't make me laugh!" Rochelle sneered. "You're right, the darkness is always there, so fighting it is a lost cause! Embracing it is the truest way to see! I've seen a world of light, and I've seen a world of darkness! I've seen the good and the evil, and I know what is real and what is fake. The light is fleeting, but the darkness is eternal. Darkness is the one constant in this world, you can never escape it, why bother trying?"

"Embracing the darkness is to give up hope! Without the light there is only darkness and despair, and a world of darkness and despair is no world at all! It's a pointless life with no meaning! The light gives us that meaning! It's the light that makes this world great! It's the light that makes us live, that makes us human!" Tea shouted.

"You don't understand." Rochelle said sadly. "But that's alright. Someone like you who has only ever seen the light cannot understand the darkness I have seen." Rochelle's face grew more sinister. "So allow me to educate you, by introducing you to the darkness!" Tea growled.

"Bring it on!"

**Anyone have déjà vu from when Yami dueled Arcana? Anyhow, time to vote on what my next Yugioh story should be!**

**The Duelist King**

**An adaptation of The Lion King. Starring Yami as Mufasa, Yugi as Simba, Tea as Nala, and Darek as Scar. Co-starring Tristan and Joey as Timon and Pumba, Dax, Carol and Drake as Banzai, Shanzi and Ed (The hyenas), Pegasus as Rafiki, Ishizu as Sarabi (Simba's mother), and Seth as Zazu.**

**Plot: Oh come on, who hasn't seen the Lion King?**

**The Seventh Element**

**An adaptation of The Fifth Element. Starring Tea as Korben, Yami as Leeloo, Bakura as Zorg, Malik as Father Cornelius, and Pegasus, aka 'Maxie Rhod', as Ruby Rhod. Co-starring Kaiba as the president, Joey as General Monro, Mai as Finger, Drake as Zorg's assistant, Ishizu as David, and Darek as Aknot.**

**Plot: Other then her bad attitude and under-par driving skills, there's nothing note-worthy about Tokyo cab driver Tea Gardner in the year 2214. Then a so-called 'Perfect Being' with tri-colored hair crashed through the roof of her cab and started speaking Ancient Egyptian. Now with a gender-questioned pop star and a priest of a millennia year old order, they must save the world from an evil force 5000 years in the making, an army of greedy aliens, and stop the schemes of the psychotic business man Ryou Bakura. And they can't stop evil from returning, all humanity is doomed.**


	12. Dark Magician Girl's True Form

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

**Voting on my next story went 3-2 for 'The Duelist King'. But a reviewer pointed out how my last Disney adaptation went; it got removed for using song lyrics. Since I've already had 3 incidents with I don't want to push my luck by doing it again. So 'The Seventh Element' wins by default. **

Chapter 12

Dark Magician Girl's True Form

"I set two cards face down and end my turn." Tea said. She looked up at the floating Spellcaster by her side. "Don't worry. There's no way that freak is gonna get the best of us." She promised. Dark Magician Girl nodded and smiled at her. The brunette Dark Magician Girl rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue as Rochelle began her turn.

"I activate 'Magician's Craft'. At a cost of 1000 Life Points, this card doubles the attack power of any Spellcaster on the field for a turn. And obviously, I'll double my Dark Magician Girl's power! Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack!" The dark mage cackled and fired a bolt of fire at Tea's Dark Magician Girl.

"Activate 'Magical Pigeon'!" Tea shouted. A glowing pink top hat appeared around Dark Magician Girl. The Dark Burning Attack shimmered and bounced off. "My trap negates any attack on Dark Magician Girl, and ends your battle phase." Rochelle growled. Tea smiled to herself as she drew. "It's my move now, and I activate 'Double Spell'. All I have to do is discard a card from my hand, and I can use any Spell card in your Graveyard. And I'm choosing your Magician's Craft to double my monster's power! Dark Magician Girl, finish off that little clone!" Tea's Dark Magician Girl spun and fired the Dark Burning at the brunette mage.

"Reveal 'Double Trap'!" Rochelle shouted. A top hat appeared in front of the red Dark Magician Girl and blocked the attack. "Just as your Double Spell card let you use a Spell from my Graveyard, Double Trap lets me use a Trap in your Graveyard. And I think I'll use your Magical Pigeon trap." Rochelle crossed her arms and chuckled. "If you keep mimicking my moves Tea, this is going to be a very boring duel." Tea growled.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn." She muttered. Rochelle drew and laughed.

"I summon 'Archfiend Soldier' (1900, 1500). And I activate 'Gift of the Martyr'. This sends my monster to the Graveyard, and gives Dark Magician Girl an extra 1900 points! This ends now! Dark Magician Girl, attack!" The brunette mage sneered and fired a second beam of magic at the blonde magician.

"Activate 'Mirror Force'!" Tea yelled. The Dark Burning Attack suddenly reversed course and slammed into Dark Magician Girl. She screamed and exploded in a shower of flame. "My trap card negates your attack and sends that freak right to the Graveyard!" Rochelle gritted her teeth.

"She won't be there for long. I activate 'Call of Darkness'. This lets me return and 2 DARK monsters in my Graveyard to my hand. And I'll return my Dark Magician Girl and my Archfiend Soldier. Then I'll play 'Pot of Greed' to draw 2 cards. I'll set this down and end my turn." Tea nodded.

"Alright. Dark Magician Girl, attack her Life Points directly!" The blonde raised her wand and fired.

"Go 'A Rival Appears'!" Rochelle shouted. "This lets me summon a Level 6 monster from my hand since you have a Level 6 monster too! So please welcome back my Dark Magician Girl!" The brunette appeared back on the field and reflected the attack with a wave of her hand. Tea gulped.

_"At this rate, neither of us is going to win. I've gotta figure out how to get rid of her Dark Magician Girl for good…before she does the same to mine!"_

-Tea: 5200, Rochelle: 6000-

- - - - - - - - -

"You're gonna pay Muto!" Vick grumbled. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Yugi nodded.

"Alright. I'll level up my Golem into 'Stone Golem Lv7' (400, 3500). Then I summon 'Armed Dragon Lv3' (1200, 900). Armed Dragon, attack Gyroid!" The little orange dragon lowered its head and slammed into the little helicopter. Vick growled. "Silent Magician, attack it again!" The mage fired a beam of sparkly white energy, and Gyroid crumbled into a heap of scrap.

-Yugi: 3000, Vick: 400-

"You're goin' down now Muto!" Vick snarled. "I set a second monster in defense mode and end my turn." Yugi nodded and drew with a smile.

"Sorry Vick, but it's over. I'll level up my Armed Dragon in 'Armed Dragon Lv5'. Then I play 'Raigeki'!" A large thunderbolt came from the clouds, striking Vick's monsters. "This card wipes out all your monsters, leaving you defenseless!" Vick stepped back and shook his head.

"No, dere's no way!" He cried.

"Silent Magician, attack his Life Points directly!" Yugi shouted. The mage roared and fired a second beam of magic. The hologram passed right through Vick, but the duelist was taken in the by the illusion. Vick stumbled back, and his foot passed through thin air as he tumbled off the pier to the water below.

-Yugi: 3000, Vick: 0000-

Vick surfaced and coughed up water. He shook his head free of water

"You little twerp! You tink dis is over? Rochelle's probably beating da girl in a duel now." Yugi ran to the edge of the pier as Vick swam for shore.

"Where is she? Tell me!" Yugi shouted. Vick laughed and stopped swimming for a moment.

"I've got two words Muto: Screw you!" He laughed. Yugi looked out at the ocean and smiled.

"And I've got one word for you Vick: Boat." Vick cocked an eyebrow and screamed as a speedboat drove past not a foot from his head, heading Vick with a backwash of water. Vick sputtered and glared up at Cyrus and Dorien.

"Don't just stand dere ya morons, get me outta here!" He ordered. Dorien and Cyrus nodded and grabbed a coil of rope off the pier as Yugi walked past them. They lowered the rope to the water, and Vick grabbed hold.

"Hold on boss, we can't hold ya!" Dorien grunted. Vick climbed higher, and the fragile rope snapped, dropping him back into the drink. Dorien and Cyrus pitched forward into the air. Vick came up again and looked up as Dorien and Cyrus fell on top of him. The three coughed and snorted.

"Hey guys!" Yugi called. The three turned and sneered at him. "Boat!" They dove under the water again as another boat drove past. Yugi ignored their curses and threats and looked around the docks. "They must be keeping her here somewhere." He said. "I'll find you Tea, if it's the last thing I do!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"I'll end my turn here." Tea said. Rochelle drew and smiled.

"I'll set a card face down, and set a monster in defense." She said. Tea frowned. Rochelle had come to the same conclusion as her- until one of them got rid of the other's Dark Magician Girl, it was a standoff. So Tea had to break it before Rochelle did. And luckily, she had the cards to do it.

"I'll summon 'Maha Vailo' (1550, 1400). And I'll add in my 'Elf's Light' to give him an extra 400 points, plus his special ability gives him another 500 points, more then enough to wipe out that little weirdo you call a monster!" The brunette Dark Magician Girl crossed her arms and growled at Tea. "Maha Vailo, attack!" The meditating monk raised a hand and fired a beam of blue energy at Dark Magician Girl.

"Activate trap 'Mirror Force Armor'!" Rochelle commanded. A thin sheen covered her Dark Magician Girl, and hardened to become a form fitting suit of armor, made entirely of glass. Maha's attack bounced off the glass and hit Rochelle's 'Spirit Reaper' (300, 200). "Thanks to my trap card, whenever you attack my Dark Magician Girl, I can redirect the attack to another one of my monsters. And thanks to his special ability, my Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed by monster attacks!" Rochelle shook her head and sneered. "And it gets worse, because Mirror Force Armor is a _permanent _trap, meaning you won't be destroying my Dark Magician Girl for a while yet." Tea gasped.

"Good move." She admitted. Rochelle's Dark Magician Girl can't be attacked as long as Rochelle has more then 1 monster. And thanks to her Spirit Reaper, she probably would for several turns now. "I'll end my turn here."

"Good. The key I need to take down that preppy little bitch is here somewhere." Rochelle cackled. "And while I'm at it, I'll take down your mage too." Tea and the blonde magician both growled at Rochelle's words. "In the meantime, I'll just draw and end my turn." Tea nodded.

"I'll draw and…" She did draw, and gasped. _"Wait a minute…I remember this card! I got it just after Yami went back to the Spirit World!" _Tea smiled and winked at Rochelle. "You want to get rid of my Dark Magician Girl? Then allow me to help you out!" Tea slid her card into her Duel Disk, and Dark Magician Girl vanished into a black vortex in the ground. Rochelle's jaw dropped.

"WHAT? What the hell are you doing, have you lost it?" She screamed. Tea shook her head.

"No, I'm just activating my Spell card 'Polymerization'. This lets me fuse my Dark Magician Girl with the 'Dunames Dark Witch' (1800, 1050) in my hand, and thus, I can revert my Dark Magician Girl back to her true form. So now, allow me to reintroduce the new and improved Dark Magician Girl!" Another female magician rose out of the black vortex. Long, silky brown hair cascaded down her back. Angelic white robes flowed off her shoulders and down to the ground. A shining silver wand, tipped with a golden star was clasped in her right hand. Rochelle gaped as the lovely mage finish her rise onto the field. With a giggle, her eyes snapped open to reveal a dazzling emerald green.

"I summon 'Ancient Magician of Beauty- Mana' (2800, 2500)!"


	13. In Absentia Lucis Tenebrae Vincunt

The Cheerleader Strikes Back 

**I apologize to all who tried the 'explain the chapter title' thing last time. I changed the chapter title at the last minute, and forgot about the dedication offer. But here it is again! The entire story will be dedicated to the review who can tell me what the title of this chapter means. Perhaps it is ironic that this is Chapter 13… **

Chapter 13 

In Absentia Lucis Tenebrae Vincunt 

"And now I'm activating Mana's special ability. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy one of your monsters! And I'm getting rid of your Reaper! And now, since you only control 1 monster, your Mirror Force Armor card is destroyed! Mana, attack her Dark Magician Girl! Divine Magic attack!" The green-eye girl spun her wand around her fingertips and shot a beam of white light. The brunette Dark Magician Girl screamed in horror at the attack destroyed her. "Now Maha Vailo, attack her Life Points!" The second beam of magic sent Rochelle sprawling back on the floor.

-Tea: 5200, Rochelle: 2750-

"Now that I've got Mana on my side, you don't stand a chance!" Tea cheered. Rochelle chuckled darkly and climbed to her feet.

"You think this is it?" She hissed. "Little girl, your decent into darkness is far from over." Rochelle drew her card and sneered. "And the time has come to show you just why the light will always loose to the darkness. I activate 'Pandemonium'!" The darkened warehouse shook as beams of light shot out of Rochelle's Duel Disk. Tea sighed in relief as the card image appeared behind Rochelle and the shaking stopped. "And next, I summon 'Warrior of Zera' (1600, 1600)." Tea frowned.

"I know that card, he can be used to summon Archlord Zerato. But why would you use a LIGHT monster?" She asked.

"You obviously don't know the tale of Zera, tale." Rochelle replied. "He was once a great warrior who strived to defeat evil. He discovered how to ascend to heaven and gain power, but his power would not be great enough to vanquish the darkness. In order to become strong enough, he would have to embrace his darkness first, in order to defeat evil as a whole. Tell me Tea, do you know the rest of the story?"

"Yeah, Zera goes to heaven and trains to become strong enough to defeat the darkness, I know the ending." Tea muttered.

"That's _one_ ending. But I prefer the second ending myself, where Zera gives into his lust for power and turns to darkness. Allow me to show you! I offer warrior of Zera as tribute to summon 'Mazera DeVille' (2800, 2300)!" Zera groaned as horns sprouted from his head. Fangs appeared in the corners of his mouth. His eyes glowed red, and Zera got to his feet, his transformation to Mazera taking over. He grew larger, a mouth appeared in his chest. His gloved hands became claws. A tail grew out behind him. Tea gaped in horror. Even Mana looked terrified.

"By god…" Tea whispered.

"And now Mazera, activate your special ability, and discard 3 cards from her hand!" Rochelle crowed. Tea gasped as Mazera dove towards her, slashing at her wrist. Tea gulped and discarded three cards. "Next, I activate 'Mystic Plasma Zone'!" A cloud of dark mist spewed from behind Rochelle, covering the two duelists. Whatever small light had been there before was now gone, the only light coming from the spotlights above and their Duel Disk. Rochelle laughed as Tea looked around in apprehension. "Tell me Tea, how does it feel to be alone in the darkness? Do you see it now? The powers of light are nothing before the forces of darkness! Mazera, attack!" Mazera roared and blasted a powerful beam of red energy across the field. The beam struck Mana in the chest. With a scream of pain, Mana fell to the ground and lay still.

"Mana!" Tea cried. Mana struggled to her feet and looked up at Tea. A single tear fell from her eye as the holograms shattered like glass.

-Tea: 4700, Rochelle: 2750-

"Don't worry about her, worry about you." Rochelle sneered. "You're all alone here Tea, alone in the darkness that is the world. The darkness cannot be stopped by anything, especially not light. You'll understand when my creatures of darkness defeat you. So make your move and be quick about it." Tea drew her card and gulped.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode, and switch Maha Vailo to defense mode." Tea said sadly.

"Ah, you're breaking my heart Tea. I activate 'Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Twice'. With this card, my monster can attack twice in a single turn. He does lose 500 ATK points, but thanks to the darkness of Mystic Plasma Zone, he's perfectly fine without the boost. Mazera DeVille, attack her monsters!" Mazera (2800, 1900) roared and fired two more beams of shining red light. Maha Vailo and 'Absorbing Kid from the Sky' (1300, 1000) exploded. "This is it Tea, you're as good as done. So make your final move." Tea nodded and drew.

"I'll set this monster in defense to end my turn." She said quietly.

"You end your turn, and I'll end this duel. I summon 'Petin the Dark Clown' (500. 1200). Mazera DeVille, attack her monster and then her!" The fiend laughed cruelly and sliced 'Fire Princess' (1300, 1500) into ribbons. Petin jumped forward and slammed its head in Tea's stomach. Tea cried out and fell to her knees.

-Tea: 900, Rochelle: 2750-

"You fought well Tea, but it's over." Rochelle laughed. "Just forfeit now so I can take my rightful place as Queen of Games!" Tea trembled as she fell forward onto her hands.

_"I don't have time to waste with amateur duelists like you." _

_"Let's see if the girl can save herself this time instead of depending on you." _

Kaiba and Dorien's words echoed back in Tea's mind.

"Yugi…I could sure use you here right now." Tea whispered.

"You see, that's why you lost!" Rochelle snorted. "You rely on your friends for strength, but without them you're nothing. Face it Tea, you take away your friends and you're worthless. Honestly, without them, what's left?" Tea sobbed as tears rolled down her face.

_"Even the times I dueled on my own, I had to have help. Mai took pity on me and let me win. If it wasn't for Yugi's Dark Magician, I would have lost my body to Crump. Who am I kidding, I'm no duelist."_ Tea swallowed and opened her mouth. "Rochelle…I for…I forfe…"

_"Don't, Tea." _A voice called out gently. Tea's eyes popped open as a flash of white light emanated from the concrete below her. "_You can't give up Tea. I know you can win this. Get up and keep dueling. Don't listen to her." _Tea climbed to her feet and ignored Rochelle's laughter. She looked to her side and gasped as a cold, tanned hand slid into hers. _"You have to do this Tea." _

"I can't." Tea said sadly. "I'm a cheerleader and a dancer. I'm no duelist. Rochelle's better, there's no point now."

_"Are you listening to yourself anymore?" _The voice asked. Tea felt a puff of breath on her neck. She recognized that voice, but who was it… _"You always told your friends to never give up, to always keep fighting, no matter how dark the situation. And now it's your turn Tea. You can beat Rochelle and her darkness." _

"How? I'm not strong enough. I can't do this on my own, I have nothing left." Tea replied. The second hand came from her other side and rested above Tea's heart.

_"Do you feel this Tea?" _The voice asked. _"This is what you have, and it's more then you need. It's excellent to be strong with friends, Tea. But you have to be strong on your own too. Strength comes from many places, and you'll never be truly strong unless you take your strength from those places. Rochelle only takes her strength from darkness and nothing else, and that's what makes her weak. Defeat the darkness and Rochelle has nothing. But you, you have yourself, and your friends to keep you going. You're strong Tea, I know you are. Now get up and prove it. Believe in yourself and the Heart of the Cards, and you'll win." _The hands left Tea's body, and the puffs of air on her neck left as well. Tea turned.

"Wait, who are you, what's your name?" She asked as she turned. She saw the voice's source and gasped. Standing behind her was a beautiful Egyptian woman. Golden gauntlets covered her wrists. Three thin gold chains wound around her neck. He blue eyes shimmered in delight at Tea. Medium length brown hair was curled into a bun on top of her head. The woman wore a long, light blue gown of silk that trailed to the floor. She smiled at Tea.

"_"My name is Teana. As for who I am…I think that's a question best saved for another time." _Another flash of white light blinded Tea as Teana stepped back. Tea closed her eyes tightly.

"What is there, huh? What's left?" Rochelle chuckled. Tea stared in confusion at the floor before her eyes.

_"There's no way…was she…was that a dream?" _Tea thought.

"Take away your precious friends, and what's there?" Rochelle's voice rang in Tea's ears. Tea narrowed her eyes and climbed to her feet, glaring at Rochelle.

"There's me." She growled. Rochelle stopped laughing and stared at Tea, amused.

"Oh? You want to keep fighting? I told you, without your friends you're nothing."

"Wrong again you psychotic little bitch." Tea snapped. "I'm me. I'm Tea Gardner, I'm the Queen of Games. And right now, I'm going to take you down!"

"Just try it!" Rochelle giggled. "You're nothing Tea, and that's all you'll ever be. You're weak, and you'll always be weak."

"Wrong Rochelle. I may not be the strongest person around, but I'm strong enough. I'm done with acting like a coward, I'm done with not accepting my role, and most of, I'm done dueling you! I activate 'Card of Sanctity', and remove all the cards in my hand from play to draw 2 cards."

"Giving up your hand for 2 measly little cards? Have you lost it?" Rochelle scoffed.

"No. I believe." Tea whispered. _"This is it, I can pull this off, but I have to do it now. Heart of the Cards…" _Tea took a breath, closed her eyes, and drew.

- - - - - - - - - -

"I think I heard Yugi." Joey yelled. He and Tristan ran down the alley between the warehouses and looked around. "There!" The two ran down to where Yugi was calling out to Tea. He turned and smiled in relief at Joey and Tristan.

"Guys, have you seen Tea anywhere?" Yugi asked.

"Nah, we've been looking for both of ya though." Joey replied. "What's goin' on, what are you two doing here?"

"Long story, but Tea got kidnapped." Yugi explained. "She's got to be around her somewhere, we have to find her." Joey nodded.

"Don't worry Yug, we'll find her. Tea's a tough one, she can take care of herself." Yugi nodded and bit his lip.

"I know."


	14. That's Another Term For It

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

**Dreammistress Jade gets the entire story dedicated to her. The last chapter is Latin, and translates to 'In the absence of light, darkness conquers'. Some of you movie buffs might recognize a modified version of this phrase from the movie Hellboy (which is a great movie, to anyone who hasn't seen it). Anyhow, congrats to Dreammistress Jade! On with the story!**

Chapter 14

That's Another Term For It…

"I activate 'Descending from Above'!" Tea cried. The warehouse shook, and Rochelle looks up. The tarp covering the roof windows fluttered to the ground, and with a crash, the windows shattered. Light streamed down and cast the room into a radiant glow. Rochelle screamed and spun around, covering her eyes. "Now I can Ritual Summon any LIGHT Monster from my hand!" Tea yelled triumphantly. Rochelle growled and stood up to face her.

"You've lost it Gardner! You don't have any monsters to Tribute for the Ritual!" She protested.

"True, but who said I'm Tributing my monsters?" Tea asked slyly. "My ritual card isn't just any ritual card. It comes with a handy special ability. It costs me half my Life Points, but it return, I can offer a single monster of yours in exchange for the summon! So now I'll sacrifice your 8 Star Mazera!" Mazera vanished into dust in the beams of blinding light. A purple angel descended from one of the skylights. "Now I summon 'Shinato, King of a Higher Plane' (3300, 3000). And now, Shinato, use your Divine Ring and destroy the Dark Clown!" Shinato held out its hands and sent a golden ring of energy at Rochelle. She shielded her eyes as Petin's head rolled to the ground, and the body exploded.

-Tea: 450, Rochelle: 450-

"This is not over Gardner!" Rochelle screamed. She drew and smiled. "I activate 'Swords of Revealing Light'!" Sharp swords rained down around Tea, trapping Shinato. "And now, I summon 'Bowganian' (1300, 1000). Now with my swords, you can't attack me. And once my turn starts next time, my monster will automatically do 600 points of damage to you, more then enough to end your little winning streak." Rochelle sneered. "You came close, I'll give you that. But it's time to step down and admit defeat!"

"Not a chance. I've beaten way tougher opponents then you, and I won't lose now!" Tea snapped. She took a breath and sighed as she saw the card she drew. "I'll set this card and end my turn."

"Good. I'll draw, and now, Bowganian, activate your."

"Hold there just a minute!" Tea shouted. "I activate the trap card 'Last Turn'!" Bowganian shuddered and froze in the air for a moment. A moment later, is vanished in a puff of smoke. Rochelle's gasped.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

"My Last Turn trap card destroys all of your monsters, and then you have to select 1 monster from your deck. Whatever you pick attacks my monster, and the last monster standing wins." Rochelle took out her deck and flipped through it. She smiled and slapped her card on the field.

"Come forth, 'Invader of Darkness'!" Rochelle laughed. "Attack her monster!" The humanoid fiend roared and charged Shinato. "With my Mystic Plasma Zone, he gains 500 points, which means Shinato is done for."

"Not quite. You were so busy being confused you failed to notice that your Field Card is gone." Tea shouted. Rochelle gasped and glanced around the field. It was true, the shadows of Mystic Plasma Zone were gone. Shinato spun another Divine Ring and sliced Invader of Darkness in half. With a groan, the monster collapsed to the ground.

-Tea: 450, Rochelle: 0000-

"And that's that!" Tea cheered. She turned off her Duel Disk and stared at Rochelle. The young goth had her head hang, hands clenched at her sides. Tea sighed and walked up to her, holding out her hand. "Hey, you dueled well. I almost lost there." Tea admitted. Rochelle growled and punched Tea in the face, sending the cheerleader to the ground. Rochelle stomped past her angrily. Tea rubbed her jaw and looked up.

"Hey, I was just trying to be nice!" she snapped. Rochelle shot her a nasty glare and pulled a key from her pocket. She unlocked the warehouse door and flung it open, marching out onto the docks. With a final sneer at Tea, she pulled the door closed. Tea jumped to her feet and ran after Rochelle. Then she heard a click from the door Rochelle had closed. Tea grabbed the handle and pulled. Nothing. She tried again. Locked.

"Come on, you can't be serious!" Tea screamed. She pounded the door. "Rochelle! C'mon, it was just a duel, let me out!" Tea groaned and rested her head against the door. "Why does this always happen to me?" She looked around the warehouse. There was another door across from her, all the way on the other side. Tea ran to it and pulled. Locked too. She sighed and slumped to the ground. "This is just not my day." She moaned. She picked up a stray piece of metal from the ground beside her and smashed apart the small window next to the door. She put her hands on the ledge and pulled herself up. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?" She screamed.

- - - - - - - - - -

_"When you find her, bring her back here right away." _Pegasus's voice crackled on the radio. Drake picked up the receiver.

"Roger that. It's a big place here though Mr. Pegasus, it may take a while." He replied.

"Hello! Can anyone hear me?" Drake frowned and craned his neck down to look out the window of the Industrial Illusions helicopter. "Hold on here, something's going on. Bring her down." The pilot Dax nodded and looked around for a clear spot to land. Drake frowned and looked down at a large warehouse beneath them. The skylights had shattered, and pieces of black tarp fluttered underneath them. A young girl was pounding on a door inside. "Looks like a kid-napping or something. Mr. Pegasus?"

_"What do they look like?" _Pegasus asked. Drake squinted.

"A girl, maybe a teenager. She's tall with brown hair. Blue shirt, blue shorts.  
"Nice set of legs." Dax commented. Drake shot him an odd look. "What?"

"Now's not the time to ogle the D.I.D. Dax." Drake muttered.

_"Brown hair? Straight and to the shoulders?" _Pegasus replied.

"Yeah, you know her?" Drake responded.

_"That's Tea. You got lucky Drake, so much for the long search. Pick her up. I'll expect you in an hour." _Dax found a large, empty pier and pushed down the throttle. The helicopter landed and Drake hopped out.

"You wait here, I'll try and find her." He told Dax. Dax shrugged and leaned his head against his arm as Drake ran down the pier,

"I'm the pilot, he's the retriever. It's just not fair." Dax muttered. "What do I have to do to rescue the hot chicks?"

- - - - - - - - - -

"Come on, there has to be someone out there!" Tea groaned. She fell down from the window and sat with her back against the wall. "Come on Yugi, you have to be out there somewhere…" The metal door clanged loudly, and Tea jumped to her feet. "Hello?"

"Hold on, the handle's stuck." Drake grunted. "You got a key in there?"

"No, otherwise I would have opened the door myself!" Tea shouted.

"Okay, hold on." Drake stepped back and pulled a small metal device from his pocket. He snapped it on the keyhole and hit a button on the back. The device hummed as the lock superheated and snapped. "Really hope no one plans on locking this thing again." Drake muttered, pulling open the door. "You okay?" Tea nodded.

"Yeah, thanks." Tea said.

"No problem. Tea Gardner, right?" Drake asked. Tea nodded.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Drake opened his mouth to reply.

"Tea!" Yugi ran up to them and Tea stooped to give him a hug. "You're alright!" Joey grabbed Drake by the collar and pushed him up against the warehouse wall.

"Look pal, I dunno what ya did to her, but you're gonna pay for it!" Joey snapped. Tea rolled her eyes and looked up.

"Joey, the one who kidnapped me is long gone. This guy just rescued me." Joey blinked and looked at Drake.

"He did?" He asked. Drake nodded, and Joey dropped him. "Sorry 'bout that." Joey laughed sheepishly.

"Who is this guy anyway Tea?" Yugi asked. Drake snapped a salute.

"Industrial Illusions Business Reconnaissance Officer 3rd class Drake Clawfang." He said. Joey cocked an eyebrow.

"Soooooooo…..who are you?" He asked.

"You said business reconnaissance officer. You mean like an industrial spy?" Tristan asked. Drake cleared his throat.

"I prefer the term business reconnaissance officer." He muttered.

"And that's a fancy term for spy, right?" Joey asked.

"I guess you could call it that…I'm one of the employees of Mr. Pegasus in charge of researching rival corporations and retrieving anything he finds of interest." Drake explained.

"Yup, that's an industrial spy alright." Joey said.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked.

"Mr. Pegasus requests Miss Gardner's presence at Duelist Kingdom. He wishes to discuss a proposition with her." Drake replied.

"What kind of proposition?" Tristan asked suspiciously.

"I was not privy to the details, but I was told to assure you it is not as sinister as his last visit requests have been. You three are welcome to come." Drake offered.

"You're darn right we're coming, dere's no way I'm leaving anyone who works for Pegasus alone with tea!" Joey muttered.

"Alright, our transportation is down at the piers, you can't miss it." Drake said. The four turned to leave, and Drake pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Start the chopper Dax, we're moving out."

**For anyone who was waiting the inevitable author cameo, there you go. Dax is my favorite OC, so I stuck him in too.**


	15. A Modest Proposal

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 15

A Modest Proposal

The helicopter landed on the balcony of Duelist Kingdom, and Tea flung open the doors, hopping down. Dax powered down the chopper as Drake stepped down from the pilot's cabin. Yugi, Joey and Tristan followed Tea outside as Drake and Dax walked down the hall that led into the castle.

"Follow us." Dax muttered. Tea and the others followed the two boys down a winding hall that led to a spiral staircase. The stairs went down 2 floors to a blank wall. Dax reached up and pressed his palm against the cold stone, and an invisible scanner appeared, scanning his hand. The blue glow subsided as the wall slid to the right, revealing the main corridors of the castle.

"Identification confirmed, Daxter Falk." A computer droned. Dax and drake led the group down the hall to a large pair of steel doors. Drake reached for a key card in his pocket and swiped it through a card reader. Dax punched up a five-digit code on a keypad on the other side of the doors, and they clanked open. Tea, Yugi, Joey and Tristan gaped.

The doors opened to a lush, large room that was carpeted in royal blue carpet. Paintings of Duel Monsters in combat lines the walls. A large mahogany desk lay on the far side of the room. The wall behind it was almost completely covered by a huge computer screen made up of 25 smaller screens. Currently, most of them were inactive, but some were showing Duel Monster tourneys, and two were tuned into a factory that was manufacturing the cards. Behind his desk, Pegasus smiled and held up his hands.

"Welcome Tea. And hello to you once again Yugi-boy, it's been a while." The Industrial Illusions chairman chuckled.

"We brought her as ordered Mr. Pegasus." Dax said as he and Drake snapped a salute. Pegasus nodded.

"Well done once again Mr. Falk and Mr. Clawfang. You can go now." The two employees nodded and slipped past Tea to the doors, closing them behind them. "Well Tea, you're looking well. I hear you've become quite the competent duelist since the last time we saw each other." Tea cringed.

"What do you mean?" Tea asked. Pegasus' grin grew wider, and he reached out to hit a key on the computer on his desk. The screens behind him all blinked to life, showing the same footage.

_"Moisture Creature, attack!" _Tea blushed as the screens each replayed her final move in her duel against Kaiba.

"Oh, you mean that." Tea laughed nervously. Pegasus shrugged.

"Well when someone as hard-headed as Kaiba-boy loses to a so-called amateur, word tends to get around. Congratulations." Tea nodded.

"Thanks, but you do you want with me?" She asked. Pegasus sighed.

"Well ever since Yami-boy left, Duel Monsters just hasn't been the same game it once was. Now it's gotten to a near obsession with some people." Tea flashed back to Rochelle and Vick.

"Yeah, I've noticed." She replied dryly.

"The game itself has never been better sold, but the soul of the game is gone. Kaiba-boy isn't likely to agree to my proposal, and while Yugi-boy is as good a duelist as he ever was, no one cares anymore, he's yesterday's news. No offence Yugi. What I think the game needs is a bright new face endorsing it. Someone who plays for the love of the game, not for money and power like Kaiba-boy always did." Realization crept up on Tea, and she shook her head.

"No way, you can't be serious." She said.

"This new 'Queen of Games' fad may be just what we need to boost our stocks even higher, and bring the game back to what it used to be." Pegasus insisted. "I'm prepared to offer a 3 year contract as the new official mascot of Duel Monsters. And if you want to bring Yugi-boy along for the ride, I'll be more then happy. What do you say?" Tea pursed her lip.

"Excuse me for a minute." She said, spinning around. "What do you think guys?"

"A job with Industrial Illusions? I'd take it." Tristan said.

"Yeah Tea, you were worried you wouldn't be able to go to New York. With the money you'd make working for Pegasus, you'd be able to easily afford it." Yugi said happily. Tea nodded.

"Yeah, good point…" She said to herself. She turned around. "Pegasus, you've got a deal." She said proudly. Pegasus smiled.

"Marvelous Tea, good to hear. However, I simply don't give out contracts for free. If I hired everyone who showed dueling talent, I'd have hired half of Japan by now. You want this job, you've gotta earn it." Pegasus typed on his computer, and the wall of monitors behind him slid apart into the wall. The wall opened to a large balcony overlooking the sea. And if Tea didn't know any better, she'd swear there was a dueling podium on either side of the balcony.

"You want to work for me Tea? I'd be more then happy to hire you. But first, let's make sure you're as good a duelist as they say, hm?" Pegasus removed a deck of Duel Monster cards from the drawer of his desk and walked out onto the balcony. "You win Tea, and you'll be the official Queen of Games, and our newest spokeswoman. Lose, and this opportunity is out the window." Tea sighed and ran onto the balcony, Yugi, Joey and Tristan behind her. Tea removed her deck from her Duel Disk and set it on the podium. The system powered up, and the holographic emitters on the podiums lit up. Pegasus and Tea shuffled their decks and set them on the field.

"If I win, I'll be the official Queen of Games…" Tea murmured. She smiled and looked up at Pegasus. "Let's do it! Bring it on Pegasus!" She challenged.

"I plan to. I'll set one card face down, and a monster in defense mode." Pegasus said, laying the cards on the field. The compact holograms of the dueling podiums projected the two cards onto the field as Tea drew her card.

"I'll summon 'Hysteric Angel' (1800, 600). Hysteric Angel, attack!" The male fairy adjusted his glasses and fired a beam of light at Pegasus' monster. With a cry of pain, 'Toon Alligator' (800, 1600) was destroyed.

"A nice opening move Tea, but now I'll take this duel up a notch. Activate the trap 'Toon Reinforcements'. This card activates whenever a card with 'Toon' in the name is destroyed, and lets me automatically play any other Toon card from my deck." Tea gasped as Pegasus whipped out his card. "Now Tea, welcome to 'Toon World'. And I can play this magical town at the low low cost of a mere 1000 Life Points." The infamous one-of-a-kind card floated onto the field with a loud pop, it's pop-up streets glowing a bright blue.

"Toon World?" Joey snapped. "Man, every time he plays that card, it gets more and more annoying!" Yugi nodded.

"Yeah, and Pegasus changed the rulings for Toon monsters all the time. Who knows what kinds of power he's given them now?" Pegasus winked.

"I'll show you now, Yugi-boy. I summon 'Toon Mermaid' (1400, 1500) and 'Toon Cannon Soldier' (1400, 1300)." The maniacal machine and clam bounced onto the field. "And now, I'll sacrifice both of them to summon 'Manga Ryu-Ran' (2200, 2600)!" A gigantic egg slammed down on Pegasus' field, and cracked apart to reveal a large red dragon.

"Hold on!" Joey shouted. "Ya can't do that Pegasus, you can only summon 1 monster per turn!"

"Yeah, but those are Toon monsters he summoned Joey." Yugi explained. "They must have a special ability."

"Right again Yugi-boy. It just so happens that Toon monsters count as Special Summons, with means I can summon as many of them as I want each turn." Pegasus said. "On the bright side, no Toon monster can attack on the same turn it was summoned. But not to worry, I've got more in store besides attacking. I'll activate 'Spell of Sanctity'! This lets both of us draw until we each have six cards in our hands. Then I'll set two cards down and end my turn." Tea nodded.

"Okay. I summon 'Hoshinigen' (500, 700). And I'm adding my 'Celtus of Dagla' to my Hysteric Fairy, giving him an extra 500 points, along with the points he gets from Hoshinigen being on the field!" The fairy (2800, 600) flexed its muscles as the twin blades appeared in his hands. "Now Hysteric Fairy, attack Manga Ryu-Ran!" The fairy flew into the air and dove at Manga Ryu-Ran.

"Activate 'Toon Defense'!" Pegasus yelled. A long chain wrapped around Manga Ryu-Ran and pulled it to the side before the blades could reach it. "As long as this card is in play, I can redirect any attack on a Toon monster to my Life Points." Hysteric Fairy flew again, blades outstretched at Pegasus. "And now I think this would be a good time to play 'Spirit Barrier'!" An invisible shield rippled around Pegasus, blocking Hysteric Fairy and tossing it back to Tea's field. "With this card, any damage done to me by your attacks becomes 0, provided of course, I have a monster on the field." Yugi gasped.

"Oh no, this is bad." He muttered. "As long as Pegasus has both those cards in play, his monsters are practically invincible. Tea's attacks against them get redirected, and then they do nothing because of Spirit Barrier."

"C'mon Yug, you sound worried. Tea's gonna wipe the floor with those Saturday morning rejects." Joey laughed.

"Now it's my turn again, and I'll activate 'Magic Reflector'." A large, round ball of electricity appeared around Toon World. "Now whenever a card effect would destroy my Toon World, my magical barrier will protect it and keep it safe. And next, I'll activate Manga Ryu-Ran's special ability. By paying 500 Life Points, he can attack directly. Manga Ryu-Ran, attack! Nasty Nostril Flame!" The red dragon inhaled and sneezed a flurry of fire at Tea. The girl clenched her eyes shut as the holographic attack covered her podium. "And to end my turn, I'll play 'Sebek's Blessing', which increases my Life Points by an amount equal to the damage you just took from my attack."

-Tea: 5800, Pegasus: 8700-

"Man, he's already got 3000 more Life Points, and it's only his third turn!" Joey complained. "This ain't fair!"

"I beg to disagree Joey." Pegasus said. "No monster is unbeatable, and no strategy is fool-proof, and my cards are no exception. Trust me, Tea can still win this. Provided, of course, she can wipe out Manga Ryu-Ran, before he wipes her out!" Tea nodded and drew.

"Don't you worry about that Pegasus! I plan to take him down!"


	16. Not All That Bad

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 16

Not All That Bad

_"As long as Pegasus has all those Spell and Trap cards, I can't hurt him. So I have to find a way around them." _"I'll set this monster in defense mode and end my turn." Tea said. Pegasus smirked.

"Goodie. It's my turn, and I'll summon 'Toon Gemini Elf' (1900, 900). And I'll activate the Spell card 'Toon Mask'. Now I can offer my new Toon as a Tribute, then I can Special Summon any Toon from my hand. So please welcome 'Blue Eyes Toon Dragon' (3000, 2500)!" The large cartoon beast flew out of Toon World its eyes flashing maniacally. "Now Manga Ryu-Ran, attack her directly again!" The red dragon sneezed and sent the wave of flame at Tea.

-Tea: 3600, Pegasus: 8200-

"You can do it Tea!" Yugi yelled. Tea shook off the attack and drew.

"I play 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards. Then I activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon'! This card destroys your Toon World!" The interstellar whirlwind wrapped around Toon World.

"Come now Tea, have you forgotten about Magic Reflector?" Pegasus scolded. The electric field around Toon World crackled and exploded, destroying the tornado. "My Toon World is safe from your Spell."

"Maybe for one time, but now that your Magic Reflector's effect has been used up, it can be destroyed! I sacrifice all my monsters to summon 'Moisture Creature' (2800, 2900). And since it was summoned with 3 Tributes, all your Spells and Trap are destroyed!" Moisture Creature aimed its laser and opened fire. Pegasus shielded his eye ad Toon World withered and burned. Manga Ryu-Ran and Blue Eyes Toon Dragon screamed in horror as they exploded. "Now Moisture Creature, attack him directly!" The fairy fired again, this time directly at Pegasus.

-Tea: 3600, Pegasus: 5400-

"Not bad." Pegasus muttered. "But I don't need my Toons to win!" Pegasus drew, and smiled. "I summon 'Magician of Faith' (300, 400)." The weak Spellcaster hovered above her card meditating. Tea frowned.

"You could have used her to get your Toon World back. What are you up to Pegasus?" She demanded.

"I'll show you Tea. I activate 'Metamorphosis'. This lets me Tribute my monster to call forth any 1-Star Fusion monster." Tea smirked.

"1-Star? It can't be very strong then." She scolded.

"Really? Don't be so sure Tea. I summon my all-mighty 'Thousand Eyes Restrict' (0000, 0000)." The monstrous creature loomed over Pegasus' field, its single eye glaring out at Tea. "Now Thousand Eyes Restrict, activate your special ability and absorb her monster!" Thousand Eyes Restrict pulsed and opened a gaping hole under its eye. A large gust of wind swept across the playing field, and Moisture Creature was drawn inward. Tea gaped.

"What did you do to my monster Pegasus?" She cried. As she finished, the outline of a pair of hands and a large head appeared in one of Thousand Eyes Restrict's wings.

"My Thousand Eyes Restrict has the power to absorb one of your monsters, and automatically increase its own power by the absorbed monster." The monstrosity (2800, 2900) rippled at Pegasus' words. "Thousand Eyes Restrict, attack her Life Points directly!" The eye glowed, and fired a beam of pale red light at Tea. Tea cringed as the beam struck her in the chest.

-Tea: 800, Pegasus: 5400-

"I'm not out yet." Tea grated. "I play this monster in defense and end my turn." Pegasus smirked.

"Alright then. I play 'Upstart Goblin'. This lets me draw a card, and it also grants you an extra 1000 Life Points. Now my Restrict, use Moisture Creature's power and attack!" The pale beam fired again, destroying 'Magician of Faith' (300, 400).

"My magician's special ability activates, letting me return my Mystical Space Typhoon to my hand." Tea informed Pegasus. "Now I summon 'The Agent of Creation-Venus' (1600, 0000). Then I play 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy my Moisture Creature, rendering you helpless! Venus, attack Thousand Eyes Restrict!" The fairy summoned a rainbow beam of light to its palm.

"Activate your second ability my monster!" Pegasus commanded. The wings of Thousand Eyes Restrict wrapped over its shoulders, and the eyes on the wings all burst open, shining out green beams of light on the field. Venus cringed and dropped to her knees, her attack vanishing in a puff of smoke. "My Thousand Eyes Restrict has the power of the Mesmeric Gaze, which prevents any monster other then the Restrict itself from attacking." Tea growled.

"Then I'll end my turn." She muttered. Pegasus smiled.

"Okay then, it's my turn. I don't have any other monsters, but as long as I have my Restrict, I don't need anymore. Thousand Eyes Restrict, absorb Venus!" The creature created another whirlwind and pulled the fairy in. "Now then, attack her directly!" Restrict (1600, 0000) charged up and fired its beam of light at Tea screamed and fell to her knees.

-Tea: 200, Pegasus: 5400-

"You've been doing well Tea, but even I can't think of a way you could win this one." Pegasus said sadly. Such a shame. But oh well.

"I'll win yet Pegasus, don't you worry about that." Tea replied, climbing to her feet. "I play 'Pot of Aravice', which lets me shuffle five monsters in my Graveyard into my deck, then I can draw 2 cards. Then I'll play 'Monster Reborn' to revive my 'Hysteric Fairy' (1800, 600). Then I'll set this down to end my turn." Pegasus smirked.

"Alright then Tea. Thousand Eyes Restrict, attack the Hysteric Fairy!" The creature summoned the red beam of light.

"What are you thinking Pegasus?" Tea asked. "Your monster has only 1600 attack points, you can't beat my monster!"

"True, but I'm one step ahead of you Tea." Pegasus chuckled. "You see, whenever my Thousand Eyes Restrict would be destroyed in battle, it's the monster he's absorbed that gets destroyed instead. Not only that, but the damage I would take is redirected to you. So once I attack, you'll take the 200 points of damage!" The red beam fired, and Hysteric Fairy fired a counter beam. The blue beam lanced through the red one and zoomed towards Thousand Eyes Restrict, exploding in a cloud of smoke. "Game over Tea!" Pegasus yelled.

"Really? You might want to look again Pegasus." Tea said, smiling. The smoke cleared, and the blue counter-attack was frozen no less than an inch from impact.

"What? What's going on, why didn't the attack complete?" Pegasus demanded.

"No offense Pegasus, but I've never once trusted you, and I wasn't about to start." Tea said. "I figured you had one last trick up your Toon-loving sleeve, so I was ready with my trap card 'Last Turn'. It activates before my counter-attack can complete, and destroys all the cards in our hands and the field except for my Hysteric Fairy." Thousand Eyes Restrict shattered, and the blue beam struck empty air. "Now you have to choose one monster from your deck to perform the final attack of the duel." Tea took a breath. _And if Pegasus has built his deck like I think he has…_

"No! This can't be!" Pegasus cried.

"I knew it!" Tea cheered. "You stacked your deck with Toon monsters! And you can't summon any Toons without Toon World, which means you can't summon anything. So I win by default Pegasus!" Pegasus blinked.

"She did it…she really did it…" He murmured as the dueling podiums powered down. Tea's jaw dropped.

"Why so surprised?" She demanded, holding her hands on her hips. Pegasus shook his head.

"I had heard you were good, but I didn't think you would win." He admitted. "But a deal's a deal. Congratulations." Pegasus crossed the balcony and held out his hand. "Welcome to the company Tea." Tea smiled and shook his hand.

"It's an honor Pegasus." She said truthfully. Pegasus nodded.

"Oh, and there's something else I think you should have." He reached into his suit and pulled out three cards. "I think these might come in handy." He handed the cards to Tea, who looked them over.

"Huh? I've never seen those cards before." Joey muttered, looking over Tea's shoulder.

"I know. They're one of a kind, the only ones.But I think I can trust Tea to take care of them. Besides, you never know. She might need them some day." Tea shrugged and slipped the cards intoher deck. "Anyway, I have the contracts ready, so come inside and we'll sign them." Pegasus said. He walked back into his office. Tea smiled again.

"You know." She said to Yugi. "Maybe he's not all that bad."

**For anyone who is reading 'The Seventh Element', I've already got my next movie adaptation planned!**

**Dash for the Cash**

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Comedy**

**Starring…**

**Yami Muto, the New York lawyer**

**Tea Gardner, the helicopter pilot**

**Joey Wheeler, the gambling-addict**

**Mai Wheeler, Joey's nagging wife**

**Mokuba Kaiba, the casino worker**

**Seto Kaiba, the irritable businessman**

**Tristan Taylor, the football referee**

**Drake Clawfang, the wheeling, dealing con-man**

**Darek Clawfang, Drake's big bro and brains of the duo**

**Malik Ishtar, the naïve, narcoleptic foreigner**

**Anthony Valentino, the tense ambulance driver**

**Daxter Falk, the sneaky key-shop worker**

**Serenity, the pricy prostitute**

**Duke Devlin, the sexually repressed assistant**

**What do these nut-jobs all have in common? They're all in the same Las Vegas casino. And the eccentric billionaire Maximillion Pegasus just gave them the opportunity of a life-time: hidden in a train station in Silver City is 5 million dollars in cash. And he just gave each of them a key to the locker the money is in. First one there gets the dough. The race is on! An adaptation of the movie 'Rat Race'**


	17. Double Trouble

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 17

Double Trouble

"I can't believe this." Tea muttered, looking over the copy of the contract Pegasus had given her. The female duelist was in the Industrial Illusions copter, heading back to Domino with Yugi, Joey and Tristan. Drake and Ax were in the cockpit piloting. "With this kind of money, I'll be able to afford a mansion if New York." Yugi smiled.

"That's great isn't it?" He asked. Inwardly he was kinda disappointed. Yes, Tea was happy and would be able to afford to move to New York once she graduated. But that meant she would be leaving him…

"We're here." Dax announced, landing the copter on the Domino pier. Tea and the gang hopped out.

"Congrats on the contract. Good to have you as part of the company." Drake smiled. "Right Dax?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at his partner. Dax grinned.

"Yeah, good to have you aboard, Queen of Games." Dax said, looking Tea over.

"Queen of Games?" Tea and company spun around. "Did you really think we were done you little hag?" Rochelle seethed, marching along the docks. Vick was hot on her heels. Dorien and Cyrus were no where to be seen.

"You again?" Tea shouted. "What do you want?"

"There's no way in hell a goody-goody two shoes like you is the Queen of Games!" Rochelle snapped. Yugi was confused.

"Tea, do you know her?" He asked. Tea nodded.

"Sadly, yeah. She's the one who locked me in the warehouse."

"Damn right, I'm the one who deserves to be Queen, not a wanna-be like you!" Rochelle snapped.

"She is the official Queen." Dax said. "She dueled Maximillion Pegasus himself not to long ago, and won the official title. Sorry." Rochelle glared.

"Then I'm challenging you!" She roared, pointing her finger in Tea's face. "There's no way a wimp like you could be the Queen! And Vick, take care of Muto!" Vick nodded and flipped on his Duel Disk.

"Hold on!" Tea yelled. "I've been dueling all day, and it'll be dark in a few hours. I'm tired and I want to go home!"

"I think you should duel her." Drake sighed. "You're not just the Queen, you're our mascot, remember? It'll be bad for our image if you turn down a duel." Tea sweatdropped.

"You've got to be kidding." She groaned.

"I've got a way to make this easier." Dax suggested. "If Vick wants to duel Yugi, and this…whatever she is, wants to duel you Tea…maybe you should double team the suckers." Yugi nodded.

"Yeah. I say it's high time we got rid of these two once and for all!" He said. Tea looked down at him.

"You sure about this Yugi?" She asked.

"You bet Tea. We're a team now, the King and Queen of Games. If they want a piece of us, we'll duel them together." Yugi replied. Tea smiled and knelt down.

"Thanks Yugi." She said, kissing the duelist on the cheek.

"This is making me gag, get on with it!" Rochelle snapped. Tea stood up as Rochelle and Vick flipped on their Duel Disks.

"I can't wait to teach these two a lesson." Tea muttered. Yugi nodded.

"Yeah. If they won't loan by losing individually, they'll learn by losing as a team!" He added. Vick snorted as he drew his first card.

"I dun tink so Muto. I'll start da match with 'Bokirachi the Frightening Car' (500, 500). And I activate 'Machine Duplication' ta summon 2 more Frightening Cards right from my deck." The three train cars rolled onto the field and glared at Yugi. "Den I play 'Graceful Charity', ta draw 3 cards and discard 2. Then I play 'Da Shallow Grave' to revive one of my monsters face down. I'll set dis and end my turn." Vick let his train cars sit by his side as his 4th monster lay on the field.

"My move!" Yugi yelled. "I'm summoning 'Stone Golem Lv3' (300, 2000). And I activate 'Level Up!' to level up my Golem into 'Stone Golem Lv5' (1000, 2600). I'll set two cards down and end my turn." Yugi's giant stone statue knelt in front of him, arms crossed over a stone chest.

"My turn then." Rochelle cackled. "I play 'Dark World Lightning'. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy your face down card Muto!" Yugi's 'Potion of Level Creation' was destroyed.

"Nice job!" Yugi said. "By destroying my Trap card, you set off its effect, letting me move a Level monster from my deck to my hand." Rochelle rolled her eyes.

"Big deal. I play 'Cost Down', and discard a monster to demote all my monsters by 2 levels. Then I play 'Legendary Fiend' (1500, 1800). As long as my fiend is in play, every time I begin my turn, he gains 700 attack points! I'll set a card and end my turn." Rochelle's winged monster hovered above her head and sneered at Tea.

"My turn now. Get ready to lose again Rochelle!" Tea shouted. "I summon 'Hysteric Fairy' (1800, 600). Hysteric Fairy, attack Legendary Fiend!" The male fairy jumped into the air to deliver a spinning kick to the monster.

"Activate 'Mirror Force Armor'!" Rochelle cackled. A mystic glass armor shone into being around Legendary Fiend. Hysteric Fairy bounced off and hit Vick's face down monster. "My trap prevents you from attacking my Legendary Fiend, and lets me redirect the attack to my darling Vick's monster."

"Dat's right." Vick snickered. "And my monster is 'Decoichi The Battlechanted Locomotive' (1400, 1000). And tanks to 'is flip effect, I can draw card for each Frightening Car on the field. So tanks for da 3 cards." Hysteric Fairy slammed into the train engine, and the machine crumbled into a pile of rust.

"I'll end my turn then." Tea muttered. Vikc smirked.

"Gold, den it's my turn." He laughed. "I set a monster in defense and end my turn." Vick chuckled. Yugi drew and smiled.

"Okay, this is it Vick! I play ''Level Modulation', which lets Rochelle draw two cards, and revives my Stonr Golem Lv3. Then I offer both of my Golems as Tributes to summon 'Dark Magician' (2500, 2100)!" Yugi's trademark Spellcaster rose onto the field with a twirl of his staff. "And I'm not done. I play 'Diffusion Wave Motion'. Now by paying 1000 Life Points, my Dark Magician can attack all your monsters at once! Dark Magician, attack Vick's monsters!" The mage flung out its staff and sent out shockwaves of magic. Vick's Frightening Cars and 'Trojan Horse' (1500, 1600) were destroyed. "And now that there's only 1 opposing monster, Rochelle's Mirror Force Armor is destroyed, letting me attack Legendary Fiend!" A shockwave of magic hit the fiend, and it exploded. "I'll set this card down and end my turn."

-Tea: 8000, Yugi: 7000, Vick: 8000, Rochelle: 7000-

"You little fool!" Rochelle laughed. "You two are entirely so predictable. You destroyed my Fiend, only to fall victim to my real strategy! Now, I remove Archfiend Soldier, Legendary Fiend, and Mazera DeVille from play, to call forth 'Dark Necrofear' (2200, 2800)!" With a flash of purple power, an open grave opened in the ground before Rochelle, and a ghostly shadow rose into the air. With a howl of pain, the Dark Necrofear materialized out of the shadow. "Now I'll set a card and end my turn." Tea frowned.

_"That makes no sense. She could have easily destroyed Hysteric Fairy. She's up to something…" _I draw, and sacrifice my monster to summon 'Dark Magician Girl' (2000, 1700)!" The blonde mage appeared on the field with a loud pop. "Look familiar Rochelle? She's gonna finish what she started last time!"

"That's right!" Yugi said. "With both Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician, you're in no position to fight back!"

"Especially once I play 'Magic Fusion'! This removes one monster in the Graveyard, and one monster on the field, from play, and fuses them. So now I can fused Dark Magician Girl with Hysteric Fairy to create 'Ancient Magician of Beauty- Mana'! (2800, 2500) **(1)**" Dark Magician Girl's robes turned an angelic white as her hair darkened from blonde to brown.

"And I'm upgrading my mage too! Activate 'Dedication Through Light and Darkness'!" Yugi said. "This turns my Dark Magician into 'Dark Magician of Chaos' (2800, 2600)." A pentagram appeared under Dark Magician, and with a burst of red light, he transformed into the infamous Chaos Mage.

"Wow, a pumped up DMG and a pumped up DM." Rochelle muttered. "This will be more fun then I thought."

"You want fun?" Tea yelled. "Mana, attack Dark Necrofear!" The brunette mage swung her staff and sent a beam of white magic into Dark Necrofear's chest. With a scream of agony, the ghost turned white and vanished in a puff of smoke.

-Tea: 8000, Yugi: 7000, Vick: 8000, Rochelle: 6400-

"I place a card face down and end my turn." Tea said. Rochelle smirked.

"Fine. Then I'll activate Dark Necrofear's special ability!" A shadow rose from Rochelle's Duel Disk and flew into Mana. Tea gasped as the Spellcaster started to writhe in pain.

"What's going on, what is she doing to Mana?" Tea asked. Mana gasped as her robes started to turn black at the bottom.

"When Dark Necreofear is destroyed, it equips to one of your monsters. And with my Necrofear possessing her, Mana now becomes my slave! Try as she might to fight it, no monster can escape the Necrofear!" Rochelle mocked. Mana's eyes glowed red as her robes finished changing to pitch black. With a growl, the possessed mage floated over to rest in front of Rochelle.

"Now let's see how I can top dat." Vick chuckled. "I know. I play 'Swords of Revealing Light', and end my turn." The shining swords rained down in front of Yugi and Tea. Yugi grimaced.

"I've gotta play something to keep Rochelle from attacking Tea…" Yugi muttered. "I set a card down and end my turn." He announced. Rochelle smiled.

"Then it's my move, and the perfect chance to show off what your precious Mana can do under my control." She giggled.

"Not so fast there!" Yugi yelled. "I play 'Discreet Defense'. At a cost of 1000 Life Points, this prevents you from attacking Tea directly!" Rochelle rolled her eyes.

"Oh no. But that's okay, I never planned on attacking her anyway." Tea raised an eyebrow. "Confused? Let me explain. My Necrofear controls Mana, but if the Equip card my Necrofear has become is destroyed, Mana reverts back to your control. And that's a risk I'm not willing to take. But fortunately, I have a way to get rid of her right now. I occurs to me that Mana and the Dark Magician of Chaos both have 2800 attack points." Tea gasped as a wicked smile grew across Rochelle's face.

"You wouldn'!" Tea yelled. "Even you wouldn't do something like that!"

"Oh wouldn't I? Mana, attack the Dark Maigcian of Chaos now!" The female mage tightened her grip on her staff and raised it into the air. Bead of sweat rolled down her face as Mana fought Dark Necrofear's control.

"No! Mana, don't! It'll destroy both of you!" Tea pleaded.

"It's useless!" Rochelle cackled. "With the powers of the Dark Necrofear controlling her, Mana is my obedient slave! Mana, attack!" The female mage groaned as she tried to resist, but the Necrofear won out. With a roar of agony, Mana slammed her staff into the ground and fired a beam of black magic at Yugi's monster.


	18. Teamwork

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 18

Teamwork

"Activate 'Magic Cylinder'!" Tea shouted. A glowing pink tube appeared in front of the Dark Magician of Chaos. "My trap intercepts the attack, and redirects it to Vick!" The cylinder absorbed Mana's attack, and fired it directly at Vick.

-Tea: 8000, Yugi: 6000, Vick: 5200, Rochelle: 6400-

"What da hell was dat?" Vick yelled.

"It was her trap, don't blame me you big oaf!" Rochelle snapped. "I'll end my turn." Tea nodded.

"Okay." _"I have to find a way to destroy the Dark Necrofear possessing Mana. It's the only way to save her and the Dark Magician of Chaos." _Tea drew her card. "I play 'Two-Man Cell Battle', which lets us each summon a 4 Star monster when we end our turns. I summon 'The Agent of Creation-Venus' (1600, 0000), and pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon2 'Mystical Shine Balls' (500, 500). I'll set this down, and then I end my turn by summoning 'Agent of Life-Jupiter' (1400, 1500), and I'll use his special ability to pay 1000 Life Points to summon back my Absorbing Kid From the Sky." Tea's five fairies hovered over her side of the field. Rochelle sneered as Vick took his turn.

"I set a monster in defense, and play 'De-Spell' ta destroy Two-Man Cell Battle. And den I'll just end my turn." Yugi growled.

_"As long as Vick has Swords of Revealing Light, and Rochelle has Mana possessed, we're helpless, and they both know it." _"I summon 'Silent Magician Lv4 (1000, 1000), and play 'Pot of Greed' to draw 2 cards. Then I use my 'Level Modulation' card to revive 'Stone Golem Lv5' (1000, 2600), and make Rochelle draw 2 cards. And then that's all." Rochelle chuckled.

"Okay then. I'll start with…"

"Hold on!" Tea yelled. "Activate 'Solar Ray'. My trap does 600 damage for each of my LIGHT monsters, so you can have fun taking 3000 points of damage Rochelle!" Rochelle growled.

"It doesn't matter. I play 'Pot of Greed', to draw 2 cards. Then I play 'Ebon Magician Curran (1200, 0000). Now, to pick up where I left off last turn…Mana, attack the Dark Magician of Chaos again!" The possessed sorceress raised her staff again and fired her dark magic.

"Stone Golem, intercept!" Yugi yelled. The giant stone statue leapt with amazing agility and jumped in front of the Chaos Mage. It took the attack and exploded.

-Tea: 7000, Yugi: 4200, Vick: 5200, Rochelle: 3400-

"I have to switch my Golem to attack mode." Yugi explained. "But by doing so, I canredirect your attack to him. Tea and I are a team, and our monsters our the same way! Even possessed and fused, Mana is still the Dark Magician Girl, and my Chaos magician if still the Dark Magician! They would never hurt each other!"

They're just cards you idiot!" Rochelle screamed. "You can't evade my wrath forever! Make your turn bitch, so I can end the duel!" Tea glared.

"I will. I switch all my cards to defense, and end my turn." Vick drew and smiled.

"I play 'Soul Exchange', and offer da girl's Shine Ball as tribute, along with my Helping Robo, to summon 'Perfect Machine King' (2700, 2500). I gotta end my turn there." Yugi smiled as the Silent Magician started to glow.

"Now then, I activate the special ability of my Silent Magician . Since you two have drawn at least 5 cards, my magician now becomes 'Silent Magician Lv8' (3500, 1000). And he's unaffected by any of your Spells, meaning that your Swords of Revealing Light don't stop him from attacking. Then, I play 'Necromancy'. This revives 4 of your monsters Vick, so welcome back your Frightening Cars and your Helping Robo." Vick laughed.

"Ya've lost it Muto, tanks for giving my monster an extra 2000 points!" He chuckled.

"I don't think so Vick." Yugi said, smiling. "You see, when my Dark Magician of Chaos was summoned, he let me transfer any Spell in my Graveyard to my hand. So here's a blast from the past. Go, 'Diffusion Wave Motion'. Now, by paying 1000 Life Points, my Silent Magician can attack all monsters!" The tall, thin mage swung his staff and fired a wave of energy across the field, destroying the Frightening Cars and Helping Robo. "And there's more. Due to the effects of Necromancy, each time one of the monsters I revived is destroyed, all your remaining monsters lose 600 attackpoints! So my next target is Rochelle's Ebon Magician!" Rochelle gasped as the wave of magic hit Curran (0000, 0000), sending the dark mage flying backwards. "And finally, I'll attack Perfect Machine King!" The large machine (0000, 2500) rusted over and crumbled.

-Tea: 7000, Yugi: 3200, Vick: 1700, Rochelle: 0000-

"And now I'm ending my turn. And since Rochelle is eliminated, it's Tea's turn. And with Rochelle's Dark Necrofear gone with her, Mana isn't possessed anymore!" The brunette mage gasped as her black robes turned white again, and she happily jumped back to Tea's side of the field. Yugi turned to Tea and nodded. "Tea, would you do the honors?" Tea nodded back.

"It would be a pleasure Yugi. Mana, attack Vick directly!" The mage fired a beam of pure white, and slammed into Vick's chest. The large man stumbled back and collapsed.

-Tea: 7000, Yugi: 3200, Vick: 0000, Rochelle: 0000-

"Yeah, we won!" Tea cheered, jumping up and down. She won across the docks and pressed her lips against Yugi's cheek. "You were awesome Yugi, we did it!" Yugi blushed.

"Uh…yeah." He said nervously.

"Get a room!" Joey yelled. Tea stood up and faced Rochelle and Vick.

"It's over Rochelle!" Tea called. "Just leave now!" Rochelle gritted her teeth and spun around.

"You'll pay for this! C'mon Vick!" She fumed. Tea shook her head sadly.

"I see why Pegasus wants me to bring some morale back to the game." She muttered. "They're so obsessed it's scary."

"Yeah. Kaiba wanted to win, but even he wasn't that bad." Yugi murmured. Drake cleared his throat.

"Well…Dax and I have to go. See ya!" He said. The partners climbed in the helicopter, and the 4 friends stepped back as it powered up and lifted off the ground. Tea watched and sighed.

"Finally. I think I've dueled enough to last me a lifetime." She said. Joey nodded,

"Yeah, tell me about it. But hey, you're da Queen of games now, you'd better get used to it! Now everyone is gonna want a piece of ya!" Tea looked down at Yugi, who nodded.

"Take it from me, he's right." The little duelist said sympathetically. Joey looked down at his watch.

"Ah man I'm late! I was supposed to pick up Serenity from the train station!" Tristan perked up.

"Serenity! You want some help picking her up? Or maybe you could just head home, I've got my bike, I'll pick her up for ya." Joey growled and grabbed Tristan by the collar.

"Tristan, you wanna break an arm or sumthing?" Joey yelled.

"Yeah, you just go home." Tristan said, breaking out of Joey's grasp. He ran down the pier. "I'll make sure Serenity makes it to your house safe!" He called over his shoulder.

"Come back here, you're gonna eat dose words!" Joey roared, giving chase. Tea sweatdropped.

"Well those two never grow up." She said, smiling. "See ya later Yugi." She said, jogging down the pier.

"Tea wait!" Yugi called. Tea stopped and turned.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering, um…could you walk me home? I have something to show you at the shop." Tea shrugged.

"Okay, sure."

- - - - - - - - - -

The sun was low on the horizon by the time Yugi and Tea reached the Turtle Game shop.

"Wait here." Yugi said, running inside. Tea sat down on an empty trashcan in front of the shop and looked up at the sunset. A minute later, Yugi came outside holding a small box. "Here." He said, holding it out to Tea. Tea smiled.

"A present? Yugi, thank you." She said, taking off the lid. Inside the box lay a single, old Duel Monsters card. Tea gasped and carefully reached down to pick up the card. It was the Magician of Faith, but the artwork was so old and faded. Tea felt tears come to her eyes. "Yugi, how did you…"

-Flashback-

6_-year old Tea Gardner sat on her front steps crying. She looked down at the admittedly somewhat poor picture of her and Yugi._

_"It does not look stupid! Stupid Heather, stupid…stupid picture!" Tea put her head down and sobbed._

_"What's wrong Tea?" Tea lifted her head and smiled._

_"Yugi…hi." She said. Yugi climbed the steps and sat down beside her._

_"Why are you crying?" Yugi asked. Tea gasped and quickly shoved her picture out of sight. She was pretty much the only girl in her class that had a boy as her best friend. Yugi was pretty much the same way…okay, with a girl as his best friend, but you know. The last thing she wanted was to see her picture. The assignment had been 'draw you with your favorite person'._

_"Uh…I drew a picture in class today." She said, wiping away her tears. "But Heather said it looked stupid." Yugi nodded._

_"Hey, I know this may some weird, but I think this might cheer you up." He said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a card and handed it to Tea. "Grandpa started selling a new shipment of cards today, and he got me a few packs of cards. This one kind of reminded me of you." Tea took the card from him and looked down at it._

_"The Magician of Faith?" She read. "300 ATK…is that a lot?" She asked, looking up at Yugi._

_"Not really. But it reminded me a lot of you. Her effect is really powerful. You know, like you." Tea cocked her head, confused. "What I mean is, a lot of people, according to Grandpa, think the game is all about power. So they'd think a monster like Magician of Faith is useless because she has low attack points. Grandpa said they never take a closer look at the cards. He said they never find the Heart of the Cards."_

_"So I think you and the Magician of Faith are a lot alike. People might think you aren't strong or pretty or smart. But when I take a closer look and find your heart, I think you're one of the best there is. You're strong, you're pretty, you're smart. You're…you're you." Yugi blushed and coughed lightly. Tea smiled and threw her arms around Yugi._

_"Yugi…thank you."_

-End Flashback-

"Grandpa found it while cleaning up the storeroom." Yugi said. "I'm not sure how it got there, but I think you should have it back." Tea gulped. She hadn't seen this card in almost ten years. She had lost it when she was 8, and hadn't been able to find it. She'd never told anyone, not even Yugi.

"Um…Yugi. Don't….you know, be offended or anything." Tea turned and grabbed the trashcan behind her, dragging it in front of her. "Could you, uh, you know?" She asked. Yugi blushed and climbed on top of the can. He was about Tea's height now, maybe a few inches taller even.

"Yeah?" He asked, embarrassed. Tea sobbed and threw her arms around him again.

"You are just the nicest, sweetest, coolest guy in the world!" Tea cried into his chest. Yugi hugged her back and chuckled. "I lot it a long time ago, and I never told you…I thought you would be mad…"

"Are you kidding?' Yugi scoffed as Tea pulled back. "I could never be mad at you Tea, you've been my best friend since…forever. We're a team, right? We stick together and help each other out, no matter." Tea wiped her tears on her sleeve.

"Yugi…" She murmured happily. Tea took a breath and slowly leaned forward. Yugi closed his eyes and pursed his lips. The two didn't even register the sound of squealing tires, or the sound of a car door opening. Yugi reached up to caress Tea's cheek as the two met in a soft kiss.

"Well this looks like a rather disgusting moment." Yugi and Tea jumped apart, the moment quickly shattering. Seto Kaiba crossed his arms and glared at Tea, ignoring Yugi completely.

"Kaiba? What are you doing here?" Yugi asked, hopping down.

"Shut up Yugi, this is between me and your girlfriend." Kaiba snapped. He pointed angrily at Tea. "You and me Gardner, right here, right now." He ordered.

"What? Kaiba, what's going on?" Tea asked.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Kaiba hissed. "Stockholders have been selling. They think I've lost my nerve because of a little girl like _you_! All because of some pathetic, meaningless title like the Queen of Games."

"She's the official Queen now! She beat Pegasus himself and earned the title fair and square!" Yugi shouted. Kaiba's glared intensified as his fingernails dug into his palm.

"Yugi, don't take this the wrong way, but not the best time." Tea said nervously.

"No one, and I mean _no one_ beats me!" Kaiba growled. "Especially some nobody amateur like you!" Tea huffed.

"I may not be the best, but I'm still strong! I've beaten a lot of strong opponents today Kaiba, some of them with more heart and love for the game then you could ever have!" She replied. Kaiba snorted.

"Is this about that moronic Heart of the Cards rant you geeks are so fond of? Save it. I didn't come here to listen to your two-bit philosophy. I came here to correct a mistake." Kaiba raised his arm and turned on his Duel Disk. "It's time we finish this once and for all Gardner. I came here to fix your little lucky win against me." Tea fumed.

"I beat you fair and square Kaiba." She shot back. "And if you want to duel again, I say bring it on!"

"Tea, are you sure about this?" Yugi asked. Tea nodded.

"I beat him once Yugi. I can…scratch that. I'm _going_ to be him again. It's time Kaiba learned you can't have everything you want." Tea walked out into the middle of the street and activated her Duel Disk.

"I'll beat you and put you in your place!" Kaiba laughed. "No one disrespects Seto Kaiba and gets away with it!"

"We'll see about that Kaiba! You're going down!" Tea said. "It's time to duel!"

**I figured the Magician of Faith flashback would be cool. And if you think that Duel Monsters wouldn't have been around when they were 6, consider that Grandpa Muto was playing it with Author Hawkins when he met him 'many years ago', so hey, creative freedom, right?**

**Anyhow, it's what I think you've all seen coming since the first chapter.**

**TEA GARDNER VS. SETO KAIBA, ROUND 2! Don't miss it!**

**I'm posting the first part of Tea's rematch with Kaiba in a few days. I changed chapter 16 so that Pegasus gave Tea 3 cards, not two. And speaking on a purely non-author POV, the first part of their rematch is, simply put…**

**Whoa.**


	19. Triple Terror

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

Chapter 19

Triple Terror

"I start off by playing 'Graceful Charity', which allows me to draw 3 cards, and discard 2. Next, I play 'Fortune Telling Stone. All I have to do is discard a card, and this card lets me look at the top 5 cards of my deck and rearrange them as I wish." Kaiba smirked. "Next, I remove 'Divine Dragon Ragnarok' and 'Lord of Dragons' from play to call forth 'Chaos Emperor Dragon' (3000, 2500)!" Kaiba laughed as a large, gilded lizard rose onto the field behind him. "And next, I activate his special ability, and pay 1000 Life Points to send all the cards in our hands and on the field to the Graveyard!" The Emperor Dragon roared and slammed a gigantic foot into the ground. A tremor shook as it fell into a vast chasm. "And that's not all, next, you lose 300 points for every card my dragon just destroyed!"

-Tea: 5300, Kaiba: 7000-

"That's all for now!" Tea smiled.

"An impressive move Kaiba, but you have no hand and are wide open for an attack!" Tea drew and nodded. "I play 'Pot of Greed', and draw two cards. Then I summon 'Maha Vailo' (1550, 1400). Maha Vailo, attack!" The meditating Spellcaster raised his hand and fired a beam of magic at Kaiba's chest.

-Tea: 5300, Kaiba: 5450-

"It's the luck of the draw Kaiba! I may have gotten lucky before, but from the way this duel is going, maybe I did win legitimately!" Tea yelled. Kaiba sneered.

"You really think its luck? You idiot…a true duelist doesn't rely on luck, he relies on skill! And in case you've forgotten, thanks to my Fortune Telling Stone, I know exactly what's on top of my deck. And its exactly what I need to put you in your place!"

"One card is going to do that?" Tea asked in disbelief. "Okay Kaiba, take your best shot!"

"Oh I will, little cheerleader, I will!" Kaiba snatched his card and slipped it into his Duel Disk. "I activate 'Dragon's Mirror'!" A large, glowing mirror appeared in front of Kaiba.

"Dragon's Mirror?" Tea asked. "I've never heard of that card before." Kaiba chuckled.

"My mirror reflects the images of Dragon monsters in my Graveyard. Then, it lets me remove them from play to fuse them into a new Dragon!" He explained.

"Nice card, but there's one flaw in your scheme Kaiba!" Yugi said. "You only have 1 Dragon in the Graveyard, and that means you don't have enough to fuse!" Kaiba shook his head.

"I didn't expect Gardner over there to catch on, but you of all people Yugi, should know my deck by now. Chaos Emperor Dragon was the only Dragon I summoned. But when I activated his special ability, I discarded 3 Dragons from my hand." The second Kaiba spoke those words, Yugi gasped.

"3 Dragons…no way! You couldn't have gotten them all on your first turn!" He protested. Kaiba sneered.

"Now, I remove from play my 3 'Blue Eyes White Dragons', in order to fuse them into 'Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon' (4500, 3800)!" The image of the infamous 3-headed Blue Eyes appeared in the Dragon's Mirror, and with a crack and a crash, the mirror shattered, and the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon flew onto the field. Tea gaped in horror.

"He summoned his strongest monster on his second turn!" She cried. Kaiba threw back his head and laughed.

"Now, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, show this pathetic cheerleader _real_ power! Neutron Blast Attack!" The Blue Eyes opened its mouths and summoned a triangular beam of energy. The heads fired the blast of electricity at Maha Vailo. Maha screamed in horror as the ground beneath it exploded, sending Tea sprawling backwards to the ground.

-Tea: 2250, Kaiba: 5450-

"Not good." Tea groaned, climbing to her feet.

"Damn right!" Kaiba snapped. "You want to be the Queen of Games, you have to earn the title! If you can't handle a little pressure, then you're even more pathetic than I thought!"

"I'm going to make you eat those words Kaiba." Tea growled. "I place a monster in defense, and activate 'Swords of Revealing Light' to prevent you from attacking for 3 turns." Kaiba rolled his eyes as the glowing swords imprisoned his prized Blue Eyes.

"That means nothing to me." He snickered. "Observe, as I play 'Pot of Greed' to draw 2 cards. 'Then I activate 'Mysterious Reinforcements'. You seem a little outgunned, so I'll help you out. This card lets both of us call on any level 4 monster from our decks. And I know exactly what I'm summoning. Meet 'Witch of the Black Forest' (1100, 1200)." Tea nodded.

"And I'm summoning 'Shining Angel' (1400, 800). Try and destroy him, and I can summon another monster." Kaiba rolled his eyes. _"It doesn't matter how many monsters she has. I've been controlling this duel since the beginning, and in just one more turn, she'll know the meaning of true terror." _

"I set a monster in defense and end my turn. One turn of Swords is up." Kaiba muttered. Tea nodded.

"I know. I'll set a monster in defense and end my turn." She said. Kaiba sneered.

"Good. And now, I'm going to teach what it means to be crushed. Prepare for the most humiliating defeat of your short career Gardner! I flip up 'Summoner of Illusions' (800, 900). This card lets me offer my Witch as Tribute, to call forth any Fusion monster." Kaiba chuckled. "One Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon had you cowering. So I expect that 2 Ultimate Dragons will terrify you!" Tea's jaw dropped as a second three-headed Blue Eyes rose onto the field.

"No way!" Yugi shouted. "You can't do that Kaiba!"

"Well I just did!" Kaiba shot back. "I suppose I should thank you, Gardner. You opened my eyes to the limitations of my former deck. While fusing 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons is a mighty strategy, there are so many other ways to call forth my strongest beast besides Fusion. Now, since my Witch of the Black Forest was sent to the Graveyard, I can select a monster from my deck and place it in my hand. But don't worry, I'm summoning it right away. I summon 'Cyber-Stein' (700, 500)." A tiny cyborg appeared on the field, looking miniature in the shadow of the two Ultimate Dragons. "And now, I'm activating his special ability! By paying 5000 Life Points, I can special summon another Fusion monster!"

"This is insane Kaiba!" Tea screamed. "You have less than 500 Life Points now! You're giving up everything just for your Blue Eyes!" Kaiba's eye twitched.

"My Blue Eyes White Dragons are all I need!" He roared. "Come forth, my third Ultimate Dragon!" The final 3-headed Blue Eyes appeared. "Now I control 3 unstoppable Dragons, and there's nothing you can do to stop them!" Kaiba laughed. "I play my final card 'Dimension Hole', which removes my second Blue Eyes from play for a turn, allowing him to avoid my Summoner of Illusion's effect from destroying him. And since your swords are still in effect, I'll just say go." Tea gulped.

-Tea: 2250, Kaiba: 450-

"I need a miracle." She whispered. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Kaiba laughed again as he saw his card.

"Excellent, just perfect. I play 'Consuming Darkness'. This card destroys my Summoner of Illusions and my Cyber-Stein. Then, I can destroy one of your monsters for each of mine I just destroyed!" Tea gasped as Shining Angel and 'Absorbing Kid from the Sky' (1300, 1000) shattered. "So now, on my next turn I'm free to attack, and there's only one monster standing between you and 3 versions of the most powerful card in history!" Kaiba mocked. "Face it, you were never good enough to beat me. I command the 3 strongest cards in the game now, and there's nothing that can beat them, save for the Egyptian God cards!" Tea gasped.

_"The Egyptian Gods cards…Kaiba's right. The God Cards would be able to wipe the floor with those Dragons. But they were destroyed when Yami went back to the spirit world." _Tea sighed. Without the god cards, there was no chance she'd win.

"I'll draw." She muttered. Tea looked at her card. It was a start. "I play 'Spell of Sanctity', which lets both of us draw cards until we hold 6 in our hands." Tea drew her cards, and gasped at the last one. "I don't remember this. This must be one of the cards Pegasus gave me. I never really did take a look at them before." Tea looked at the card and did a double take. "It can't be…this looks like…"

"Hurry up already, I've got a duel to win!" Kaiba yelled. A smile slid across Tea's face.

"You were wrong Kaiba. There _are _cards other than the God cards that can beat your Dragons!"

"You're delusional!" Kaiba replied.

"Really? I'll show you. I play 'Spell Absorption', which gives me 500 Life Points every time a Spell card is played. "And I'm also playing 'Two-Man Cell Battle' and 'Banner of Courage'! This gives me an extra 1000 points!"

-Tea: 3250, Kaiba: 450-

"And now its time to summon my monster, a beast with the strength of a God card!" Tea said.

"That's impossible!" Kaiba laughed. "God cards need 3 Tributes to be summoned, and you only have 1 monster!"

"True." Tea admitted. "But who said I'm Tributing 3 monsters? The monster I'm summoning needs 3 Spell cards as Tributes! So I send my 3 Spells to the Graveyard to summon this!" A large, black vortex appeared in the sky as the sky overhead clouded over. Thunder rumbled as a glowing golden ball lowered to the ground.

"No way!" Kaiba said, shocked. "That can't be! That's not the Winged Dragon of Ra!" He shouted. Tea nodded.

"You finally got it right Kaiba. This isn't Ra, but it is just as strong. Let me tell you, there's only thing worse than a Legendary God card!" Kaiba took a step back as the golden orb cracked open in a flash of purple light.

_"Just as the Pharaoh was entrusted with the protection of the 3 Gods, so shalt his Queen protect the 3 Demons!" _Tea gasped as Teana's voice rang in her ears. Before her, the golden monster spread its wings and glared down at Kaiba. It looked like a shining gold skeleton, with a pair of large horns atop its head. If Kaiba didn't know any better, he would swear it was…some sort of 'evil' version of the Winged Dragon of Ra.

"Like I said, the only thing worse than the Legendary Gods are the Legendary Demons!" Tea cheered. "Like my new monster, 'Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder' (4000, 4000)!" At the sound of his name, Hamon raised his head and roared. With a clash of thunder, a lightning bolt streaked from the sky and struck the beast, casting it in a brilliant electric blue glow.

"Just as there were 3 God cards, Pegasus gave me 3 Demon cards!" Tea explained. Kaiba gapped at Hamon as the demon summoned another show of lightning. The demon roared again and sneered at Kaiba's 3 Ultimate Dragons. "And with Hamon on my side, you've got a real challenge now! You seem to think this duel is over Kaiba, but in my opinion, we've barely even started!"

**I'll say it now, I'm not going to pull some cheesy stunt and make up a Fusion of the 3 Ultimate Dragons. A 9-headed Blue Eyes? F.G.D. is bad enough.**


	20. Never Saw This Coming

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

**LAST CHAPTER! Yup, sorry, but true! But don't worry. I go out with a REALLY big bang…**

Chapter 20

Never Saw This Coming…

"I'll set this card face down to end my turn." Tea said. Kaiba shook himself from his stupor and sneered.

"You really expect that cheap imitation of Ra to stop me?" He demanded. "I set these three cards face down, and play 'Emergency Provisions, which sends them all to the Graveyard, and gives me 3000 more Life Points! Now, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Neutron Blast!" The dragon on the left opened its mouth and fired the blue beam.

"Activate 'Rush Recklessly'!" Tea said. "This gives Hamon an extra 700 points for one turn, enough to turn the tables on your Blue Eyes!" The Neutron Blast hit Hamon (4700) who shook off the blow and chuckled darkly. "Hamon, counter-attack! Dark Lightning!" Hamon roared and held up a golden claw. A bolt of lightning struck from above into Hamon's palm, where it formed a glowing black ball. Hamon flung out its palm and sent a black beam towards the Blue Eyes. The black beam struck the dragon, and Kaiba shielded his eyes as it exploded, sending shockwaves across the field. The remaining two dragons roared in anger as their brother fell to the field and shattered. "And there's more, when Hamon destroys a monster, you take an additional 1000 damage Kaiba!"

-Tea: 3250, Kaiba: 2250-

"I'm not going to lose to you." Kaiba growled. "You may have held off my attack for a turn, but nest turn there'll be no escape!" Tea nodded.

"We'll see Kaiba. I flip up 'Magician of Faith' (300, 400), which lets me retrieve my Swords of Revealing Light, which I'm playing now!" The glowing swords rained down on the field, and Kaiba smirked.

"Stalling for time is a sign of weakness Gardner. Give it up."

"Not likely!" Tea said. "I know I have something in my deck to beat you. I just have to draw it. In the meantime, I end my turn." Kaiba drew and smiled.

"Alright then. I suppose you were only planning on facing my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragons. But I'm not done with them yet. You'll soon learn, Gardner, that a creature of ultimate power like the Blue Eyes White Dragon cannot be defeated by a mere demon! I play 'Dimension Fusion'. It costs me 2000 Life Points, but now I can call forth all my monsters that have been removed from play. And since I removed them with Dragon's Mirror, come forth, 'Blue Eyes White Dragons' (3000, 2500)!" Kaiba's trademark monsters appeared alongside their Ultimate cousins. "I set these two cards down and end my turn."

"Alright." Tea said, drawing. "You called forth your Blue Eyes, but they won't be around for long! Hamon, Dark Lightning!" The demon roared and fired the bolt of electricity.

"Reveal 'Copy Spell'!" Kaiba command. A glowing sword shot out of the card and struck Hamon in the wing. The demon groaned and clutched the sword, the attack failing. "My Trap card transforms into a copy of one spell on your side of the field. And obviously, I'm copying your Swords of Revealing Light! If you want to go 3 turns with any attacks Gardner, you're going to do it right." Tea cringed.

"Alright, I'll set this card and end my turn." She said. Kaiba sneered.

"Good. Because its time to reveal yet another use for my Blue Eyes. Activate 'Ray of Hope'! This lets me return any 2 LIGHT monsters in my Graveyard to my deck. But, when used on a Fusion card, that card returns to the Fusion deck. Which means my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon is safe and sound, ready to be fused once again. Fused, by the old fashioned way. I play 'Polymerization', and fuse together my 3 Blue Eyes to bring back my third Ultimate Dragon!" The three single dragons combined together in a burst of light.

"I am getting really tired of those dragons." Tea said to herself.

"I'll end my turn there." Kaiba said. Tea drew.

"This may be what I need." She whispered. "I play 'Quick Draw Trap'. This lets me select any 3 Trap cards from my deck and place them on the field at a cost of half my Life Points. In return, those Trap can't be activated this turn." Kaiba snorted.

"Trap cards, more stalling. Maybe I should take a nap while you try and wait out your defeat." He sneered.

"I'm not stalling Kaiba. Observe. I place 'Gravity Bind', 'DNA Surgery', and 'Call of the Haunted' face down." Tea held up one more card. "Now, Hamon needed 3 Spell cards as Tributes. This monster requires 3 Traps! So I'll send the 3 Traps I just placed on the field to the Graveyard, to call forth my second Legendary Demon!" Hamon chuckled darkly as a winding red snake wove through the clouds above him. Kaiba stared.

"Slifer?" He roared. Tea sighed.

"You never did pay much attention to us Kaiba. This isn't Slifer, but I from the look, I suppose you can consider them distant cousins." A long red dragon dipped its head from the clouds and roared. "I call forth 'Uria, Lord of Searing Flames' (X000, X000)!" Uria, to Kaiba's shock, was a mirror image of Slifer the Sky Dragon. But where as Slifer had white markings, Uria's were pitch black.

"And now I activate Uria's special ability! Slifer gains power from the amount of cards in a player's hand. Uria gains its power from the Traps in my Graveyard!" Uria (4000, 4000) growled as bolts of energy coursed into it from Tea's Duel Disk. Kaiba looked down at his coat. The collar was beeping. Kaiba pressed the microphone hidden there.

"What, I'm busy!"

"Seto, something's wrong!" Mokuba replied. "I just got a call from Roland, there's something overloading the Duel Disk mainframe. We have to shut down the system and reboot it before it overloads! If that happens, all the Duel Disks in circulation will malfunction!" Kaiba growled and glared up at Uria and Hamon. Gardner was sure she could best his dragons with demons. His Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragons were going to crush her and her pathetic imitations of the God cards. And Mokuba expected him to pass up a chance like that?

"Shut down all Duel Disk servers except for mine and Tea Gardner's." Kaiba ordered. "Shunt all servers to sustain the remaining 2 Duel Disks. Don't let them shut down."

"But Seto..." Kaiba ignored Mokuba and looked up at Uria and Hamon.

" "Uria, Hamon, and the third Demon, no matter who he is, will al fall! My Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragons will destroy them!" Kaiba roared.

"We'll see Kaiba!" Tea shot back. "Now I activate the special ability of Uria. Uria, Flame Cannon!" Uria opened its mouth- unlike Slifer, it had only one- and fired a jet of rd-hot flames. "Fire!"

"You can't, my Copy Spell is preventing your attacks!" Kaiba shouted.

"You're almost right again. But who said I'm attacking your monsters! In exchange for not attacking at all, Uria can destroy one of your Spell or Trap cards." The flames struck Copy Spell, and the smoldering hologram of the card sizzled and burnt to a crisp. "That ends my turn."

-Tea: 1625, Kaiba: 250

_"Although I hate to admit it, those Demons are powerful." _Kaiba thought to himself. _"They can't beat my Blue Eyes yet, but if she summons the third Demon…" _By process of elimination, Kaiba knew the third Demon had to be a copy of Obelisk, the Tormentor. It had been a long time, but Kaiba remembered all too well the power Obelisk wielded. All of the Demon cards were twisted, evil versions of their God card counterparts. While Ra was a mighty winged dragon, Hamon was a sinister, golden skeletal figure. Slifer and Uria were both powerful red dragons, with Slifer commanding thunder and Uria commanding flame. But the Demon version –whatever it was called- of Obelisk…Kaiba had no idea what its powers were. But he intended to end the duel before he needed to know!

"Set them up, and I'll knock them down!" Kaiba snarled, drawing his card. "I place this card down and end my turn." Tea nodded.

"Okay Kaiba. You want it, so here it comes. I play 'Graceful Charity', to draw 3 cards and discard 2. And one of the cards I'm discarding is 'Angel's Wrath', a Trap card! Which means Uria now has 5000 attack points, enough to defeat your Ultimate Dragon and end this duel! Uria, attack! Flame Cannon!" Uria opened its mouth and summoned another glowing ball of red flame. "Destroy Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba growled.

"Activate 'Spirit Barrier'!" He commanded. "Now as long as one of my monsters remains in play, all damage to my Life Points becomes 0! Which means I'm safe from Uria's attack!" Uria fired and incinerated the Blue Eyes. Kaiba and Tea both gasped as sparks leapt up from their Duel Disks.

"No…" Kaiba whispered.

"Seto, we have to shut down the system!" Mokuba yelled. Kaiba growled.

"I will win this duel Mokuba, and nothing will stop me! The system will hold out!" The flaming dragon fell to its knees and collapsed, exploding in a plume of fire. A heat wave surged across the field in its wake.

"If you want to damage my Life Points, you'll have to destroy all 3 of my beasts!" Kaiba laughed. "And that's a task I sincerely doubt a cheerleader like you can handle." Tea growled. "In the meantime, my turn. I set this card down and end my turn. Your Swords of Revealing Light." Tea nodded.

"Okay. My move. Tea looked down at her card. _"This might come in handy later, depending on what the third Demon is. For now, I can keep up my attack with Uria." _"Uria, Flame Cannon! Destroy his second Ultimate Dragon!" Uria fired and burnt another Blue Eyes. Kaiba gritted his teeth and electricity leapt up from his cards. Tea looked down at her.

_"Either I'm losing my mind, or my cards are glowing." _Tea thought. Uria was glowing a faint red, and Hamon was glowing gold. And it also seemed like Uria was…pulsing, while it attacked. _"The God cards may have been real, but they were meant to represent the real Gods of Egypts. These Demon cards may be counterparts, but they're just cards, they're not real like Slifer, Obelisk and Ra were." _Tea assured herself and sighed. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn there." Kaiba smirked.

"Good. Because now I'm going to turn this entire duel around." He sneered. "I activate my trap 'Fiend Comedian'! Now, I can flip a coin and call it heads or tails. If I call it right, all the cards in your Graveyard are removed from play. And if I call it wrong, I have to discard cards from my deck equal to the cards in your Graveyard!" Tea gasped.

_"If he calls it right, all the Traps in my Graveyard are removed! Uria will lose its attack power!" _Tea gulped as a giant holographic coin appeared, and flipped into the air.

"I call heads!" Kaiba yelled. The coin spun in the air and landed. On tails. Tea let out a breath. "Don't relax yet Gardner. It really didn't matter what the result was, I still win. Now, I sacrifice my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, in order to summon 'Blue Eyes Shining Dragon' (3000, 2500)!" Yugi gasped. Kaiba had only ever used that card once, and it was nearly unstoppable! The gleaming silver mechanical Blue Eyes hovered above the field as Kaiba laughed. "Now, my Blue Eyes Shining Dragon gains 300 attack points for each Dragon in my Graveyard." Kaiba smiled.

"There are already 7 in the Graveyard, and thanks to my Trap, I discarded 8 more Dragons from my deck. That's 15 Dragons, for a total of 4500 extra points!" Tea gaped at the shining dragon (7500, 2500) as sparks raced along its jaw. "It's been fun toying with you Gardner, but all good things come to an end. Blue Eyes Shining Dragon, Shining Neutron Blast!" The super-powered machine summoned a gigantic bolt of lightning into its mouth, and fired it full force at Hamon. The golden demon groaned and fell to the ground. Kaiba threw back his head and laughed.

"Game over Gardner! I win!" Kaiba laughed.

"Not yet Kaiba!" Tea snapped. "Activate 'Waboku'!" Kaiba gasped as the shining electric attack vanished in mid air.

"You're really starting to piss me off!" Kaiba snapped. "I'll set a card and my turn there." Tea nodded.

"You've got it." She looked down at her deck and stared. The top card was glowing a faint blue. _"If it's glowing…then that means…" _Tea drew her card and gasped. "The third Legendary Demon!" She whispered. She nodded and faced Kaiba. "I activate 'Flip Recall'. This lets me remove any monster in my Graveyard from play, and use its Flip effect at the cost of 1500 Life Points. And I'm using my Magician of Faith's effect to reactive 'Spell of Sanctity', and draw until we have 6 cards each."

"Now I play 'Raigeki', which destroys all your monsters!"

"I think not! I play 'Solemn Judgement', and pay half my Life Points to negate and destroy that Spell!" Kaiba yelled.

-Tea: 125, Kaiba: 125-

"I figured you would have a counter ready. Kaiba, you really need to learn how to take a bluff. I play 'Martyr of Phantasm'. This card can only be activated when I control 3 of the Legendary Demons, and calls on 3 'Phantom Demon' tokens. And they're the monsters that will end this duel once and for all!"

"Really? How are 3 monster tokens going to do that?" Kaiba mocked.

"They'll do it because I'm sacrificing them!" I sacrifice my three tokens to summon the third and most powerful of the Legendary Demons!" Electricity raced along Tea's Duel Disk. The cheerleader went to place the card on the disk, and gasped as a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting the disk. Tea screamed as lightning coursed through her body. The third Demon card in her hand pulsed and flung itself out of her grasp, flying into the air.

"TEA!" Yugi screamed, running to her. Tea groaned and collapsed to the ground. Yugi turned her over and felt for a pulse. "Thank god." He gasped, finding one. Yugi looked up and froze. His gaze slowly panned down to Tea's arm. Her Duel Disk was fried. Short circuited by the lightning. It was just a piece of metal now, unable to project anything. And yet…

Hamon and Uria still floated in the skies above…

- - - - - - - - - -

In an alley a few feet away, the third Legendary Demon card slid to the ground. A black boot stepped out of the shadows near it, before the boot's owner kneeled down to pick the card.

"Well well well, seems the cheerleader wasn't ready for this kind of power." Rochelle said to herself. "I suppose in her condition, she won't be needing this anymore." Looking up at Yugi cradling Tea, Rochelle smiled. "Goodbye Tea. You shall not be missed." Rochelle laughed and slipped the Demon into her pocket before melting back into the darkness…

**To be continued…**


End file.
